This Above All
by akane47
Summary: A childhood friend of Shin-woo's comes back into his life and quite literally rocks his world.
1. Hello, I Love You

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're Beautiful_. The title of this story comes from the quote above, and the title of this chapter from the 1968 Doors song. Jerry Maguire belongs to Cameron Crowe, writer of the movie of the same name. The Korean Basketball League belongs to itself, and Busan Kia Enterprise and the Seoul SK Knights (Mr. So's former KBL teams) to their respective owners. Only So Ha-neul, Moon Su-jin and So Kang-dae are mine.

**Technical Notes:** This story takes place in during the summer of 2010, about one year after the events of _You're Beautiful_. Please also excuse the lack of honorifics in the text. I didn't want to have "-sshi" all over the place, so I am sticking to stick to the basics.

**THIS ABOVE ALL**

_This above all: to thine own self be true._ — William Shakespeare, _Hamlet_

_Chapter One - Hello I Love You (The Doors)_

"You're wearing _that_ to the concert?"

Puzzled, So Ha-neul looked at her best friend, then down at the faded jeans and baggy T-shirt she was wearing. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

Moon Su-jin put her hands on her hips. "You look like a boy!"

"I'm going to a concert, not a wedding," she retorted. "There's going to be a lot of people, it will be hot inside, and we'll be standing. It... it'll be just like a basketball game!" Ha-neul finished triumphantly. She and Su-jin had watched, as well as played, their fair share of games over the years. They definitely knew what it was like to go to those events.

"But you don't get a backstage pass after a basketball game," Su-jin told her. Without bothering to ask for permission, she opened her friend's closet and started digging through it. "We're going to meet the band after the concert! You need to look nice! Didn't your dad say you had to dress up a little?"

"I don't know what that means," Ha-neul said, but at that point she noticed that Su-jin's outfit — black leggings, flat black shoes and a floaty-looking pink blouse — looked very different from her own.

"Well, now you're going to find out." The other girl pulled something out of the closet. "Wear this. You can keep those jeans and sneakers on."

She arched an eyebrow at the T-shirt that her friend tossed on the bed. It was one of Ha-neul's newer ones, bright yellow with video game graphics on the front. "It's not different from what I'm already wearing."

"All you have in your closet are jeans and T-shirts. At least that shirt will fit you better. You need to go shopping and buy clothes that will show off your figure more!" Su-jin sighed melodramatically. "_I'm_ the one who has to hide mine."

Ha-neul rolled her eyes as she pulled on the new T-shirt. While her best friend was on the short and curvy side, and always worried about getting fat, she was naturally thin and almost six feet tall in her bare feet. She felt like a gigantic stick next to Su-jin. "I think you look cute, Su-jin. I wish I could look more like you."

"Aww, thank you. Here, put this on, too." A clump of dark blue material landed on the bed. "I bought this vest for you last Christmas, and you've never worn it! It will look cute over that shirt. Now for some accessories..."

As Su-jin rooted through her dresser, Ha-neul sighed and wished she could just stay home, or at least do something else, but her father said that being seen at the concert would raise her public profile and be good for her modeling career. Well, she told herself, a concert didn't sound like a bad way to spend the evening. There was just one little problem... "Who's having the concert again?"

Su-jin rounded on her with a scandalized gasp and a bright orange accessory (more presents that Ha-neul had never worn) in each hand. "I know you don't listen to pop music much, but I can't believe you don't know AN JELL!" she exclaimed, then tossed the bracelet and ponytail holder on the bed. "Put these on, and then I shall educate you."

By the time Ha-neul had donned the accessories, Su-jin had opened a Youtube webpage on Ha-neul's computer. "This is AN JELL," she began as the video began to play. She pointed to each member of the group as he came into focus. "That's Hwang Tae-kyung, the lead singer... Go Mi-nam, who plays keyboards and does a lot of singing, too, is the newest member; he joined them last year... and that's Kang Shin-woo, he plays guitar—"

"Hey, wait a minute." Ha-neul peered at the computer screen. "Did you say 'Kang Shin-woo?'"

"Yes," Su-jin replied, surprised. "Why?"

She frowned thoughtfully, trying to get a closer look at the band. Which one in the video was he again? "It's not important, but the name—"

Just then, there was a firm knock on her door. "Girls," rumbled the voice of So Kang-dae, Ha-neul's father. "Let's go. We don't want to be late."

"We're coming, Uncle," Su-jin called. "OK, close that computer and put this on," she told Ha-neul, pushing a tube of lip gloss in her hand, "and let's go!"

* * *

The AN JELL concert, the last one of their summer tour, was held in a concert hall almost as big as the Jamsil Arena. Even though the venue was very big, it was packed with thousands of excited fans. "They seem really popular," Ha-neul said, speaking loudly so to be heard over the noise of the crowd.

"They're only the most popular idol group in Korea!" Su-jin told her. "I can't believe you don't know!"

"Well, I don't," she answered as the lights on stage suddenly blazed on and screams filled the air.

Ha-neul didn't know anything about AN JELL, but the concert was an electrifying experience. The band was like a big-league basketball team, controlling the crowd's emotions with every little move they made. But unlike basketball games, the concert had all sorts of cool effects like colored smoke and giant video screens. The screens gave Ha-neul the chance to get a closer look at the scowling, intense vocalist, the suave and confident keyboardist, the bleached-blond drummer banging happily away on the drums. Most of her attention, though, was on the guitarist. She and Su-jin were too far away for her to get a good look at him, but the video screens occasionally focused in on his face.

"It _is_ him," Ha-neul murmured.

* * *

"Wasn't that amazing?" Su-jin exclaimed as she and Ha-neul made their way to the backstage area after the concert. She was speaking loudly, which made some of the exiting fans glare at them, and then look enviously at the backstage passes hanging around their necks, but Ha-neul could understand why her friend was speaking that way; because of all the loud noise during the concert, her ears felt as though they were stuffed with cotton.

"It was great." Ha-neul's voice sounded strange. She hoped the ringing in her ears would go away soon.

Suddenly, there was a vibration in her shoulder bag. Her father had sent a text message to let them know that he was waiting for them near the entrance. "And the band is with him!" Su-jin said. "This is so exciting! But wait, before we go in..." Out came the lip gloss again.

After the retouch, the girls made it through the venue security without any problem — Ha-neul was willing to bet that her father had already told security to watch out for her. Once they were finally backstage, it was easy to spot Mr. So, who at well over six feet, towered over everyone in sight.

So Kang-dae smiled when he caught sight of Ha-neul. "There she is now! Ha-neul, come here, please."

Pasting a smile on her face, Ha-neul obeyed, with Su-jin not far behind. "This is my daughter, Ha-neul," her father said, "and her friend, Moon Su-jin. Ha-neul, you remember my old friend and former manager, Ahn Sung-chan, and I am sure you know the members of AN JELL."

"Hello," Ha-neul said, bowing politely. "Congratulations on a great concert."

Ahn Sung-chan, President of AN Entertainment, did an exaggerated double take. "_This_ is little Ha-neul? She's all grown up now! _Beautiful! Beautiful!_" he exclaimed in English. "You look just like your mother."

"Thank you, President Ahn."

He wagged a finger at her. _"No, no, no,"_ he reprimanded her, again in English. "You must call me Uncle, the way you did before!"

"Yes, Uncle," Ha-neul repeated dutifully, ducking her head to give Su-jin an amused look. She remembered this man only vaguely; the random spouting of English she didn't remember at all.

President Ahn then decided to formally introduce her to the band. Hwang Tae-kyung, who didn't look particularly sociable, surprisingly gave her a small nod and smile. Ha-neul received more enthusiastic greetings from Go Mi-nam and Jeremy.

"Actually, Ha-neul and I have met before," Kang Shin-woo said when he was presented. "We went to elementary school together."

Ha-neul nodded. "Kang Shin-woo! I knew your name was familiar! You... you were shorter than me then," she blurted out.

That made Su-jin gasp and Jeremy chortle, but Shin-woo just smiled pleasantly. Those days were long past; today, they were just about the same height — in fact, she might even be a little shorter than he. "Well, you were the tallest girl in our class," he replied, then nodded respectfully to Mr. So. "And everyone knew who you were because your father was a professional basketball player."

_"Really?"_ Jeremy asked, looking up at Mr. So in wonder. Go Mi-nam looked impressed, too, but he was too cool to say anything.

"Yes," President Ahn confirmed. "You probably don't know it, Jeremy, because you grew up in England, but Mr. So played for Busan when the Korean Basketball League first opened. I was his manager." He chuckled. "But now I only manage singers because their careers last longer."

"Leaving _me_ to manage the star athletes," Mr. So added, grinning at his old friend.

"He's the Jerry Maguire of Korea!" the other man joked. _"Show me the money!"_

"I didn't know you were from Busan," Mi-nam remarked to Shin-woo as the elders started talking business, leaving the younger ones to their own devices.

Shin-woo was about to answer that he remembered telling Mi-nam this, but caught himself; it wasn't Mi-nam whom he had told, but Mi-nam's twin sister, Mi-nyeo. "You probably hadn't joined the band yet when I told everyone," he said instead. Suppressing the little pang that still ran through him at the thought of Mi-nyeo, he turned back to his old classmate. "The middle school was very disappointed when you moved away. The girls' basketball team there was really looking forward to having you as a member."

Ha-neul gave him a small smile and a shrug. "Well, I couldn't help it; we had to leave."

"Why did you have to go away?"

"My father signed a contract to play for the Knights. He played for one season, then he had to stop because my mother got sick."

That familiar prickly warmth, a sure sign that he had said something embarrassingly wrong, started creeping up the back of Shin-woo's neck. He could tell from the sadness in Ha-neul's voice and the fact that Mrs. So was not around that she did not recover. "I'm sorry," he managed to say.

A silence fell as Su-jin patted her friend's back comfortingly. To his mortification, Shin-woo saw that Jeremy fidgeted uneasily, and Tae-kyung, always uncomfortable with emotional displays, looked like he wished he were somewhere else. Mi-nam, however, jumped in to save the day. "Mr. So and President Ahn said that you played basketball for Korea in the Olympics," he said, flashing her the smile that sent AN JELL's fans swooning. "That's really cool."

The change of subject (or maybe it was that smile) seemed to cheer up Ha-neul. "Oh, yes, I did," she answered, trading grins with Su-jin. "Su-jin and I were teammates. That's actually how we met — training for the national women's team."

Jeremy peered down at Su-jin, who was almost a foot shorter than Ha-neul. "_You_ played basketball?" he asked in disbelief.

"She is the best point guard on the team," Ha-neul told him. "She took us all the way to the quarterfinals."

"And don't forget the gold medal in the FIBA tournament that let Korea qualify for the Olympics in the first place," Su-jin added tartly. She had seemed awestruck a while ago, when she first met the band, but it looked like that feeling was gone.

"Awesome," Mi-nam said, earning him a brilliant smile from the smaller girl.

The blond young man, however, still looked skeptical. "Is girls' basketball as hard as boys' basketball?"

"Why don't you play a game with us and find out?" Su-jin challenged him. Ha-neul nudged her, murmuring for her to keep her cool, but the other girl ignored it and kept her eyes on Jeremy, a fierce expression on her round face.

"I'm not a girl!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"We can dress you up like one if you don't want the other players to find out you're a boy."

That made Tae-kyung and Mi-nam burst out laughing. Shin-woo, knowing that they were remembering the story of Mi-nam's entry into the group, soon followed. Jeremy tried to laugh, too, but he still looked disgruntled.

Eyes wide with bewilderment, Ha-neul and Su-jin watched the boys laugh. "I wasn't joking," Su-jin whispered to her friend.

* * *

"You did well tonight," Mr. So told his daughter in the car, later that night. They had just dropped off Su-jin at her house and were driving home. "Manager Ahn was very impressed with you."

"I'm glad," Ha-neul said, watching headlights speed past them in the night.

"He promised to help us by having you attend the events that his agency holds from time to time. He can introduce you to people in the modeling industry."

"That's very kind of him."

"It will be a very big help to your career," her father agreed. "Being a former member of the Korean women's basketball team will help people remember your name, but we know it does not really get the modeling jobs to come in." So far, Ha-neul had done work for some casual clothing lines, a facial wash and a children's health drink — they were good assignments, but nothing particularly high-profile.

"I know."

Silence fell for several moments. "The injury wasn't your fault," Mr. So said finally, his voice gruff. Ha-neul and her father had always thought that she would go on to play in the Women's Korean Basketball League after her Olympic eligibility was up, but a knee injury in the quarterfinal against the USA had made that out of the question.

"I know," she said again. She had been devastated in the beginning; two years later, the loss of that dream still stung but with her father's help, she was moving on. "But it did happen," she added, repeating what he had told her over and over, "and the best thing we can do about it is find a different path."

"That's right." Without taking his eyes off the road, Mr. So reached over to pat her arm. "Taking a different path is hard," he said encouragingly, "but it won't be as bad as you think. You'll do very well as a model, the way you did as a basketball player."

Straightening in her seat, Ha-neul nodded. _I hope so,_ she thought.


	2. My Brave Face

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're Beautiful_. The title of this chapter is from the 1989 song by Sir Paul McCartney. I only own Ha-neul, Reporter Lee and _Young Life_ magazine.

_Chapter Two - My Brave Face (Paul McCartney)_

A week or so later, Ha-neul was desperately trying to recall her father's words and control the knocking of her knees. _It'll be fine,_ she told herself. _It's just like making friends, only there's business involved. And if anything happens, Appa is somewhere around._

She tried to find her father in the darkened club, but all she could see were well-dressed young people. Ha-neul supposed that he was somewhere in the back with President Ahn, celebrating AN JELL's successful summer tour along with the other executives, and he wouldn't like it if she went looking for him instead of staying out here and socializing. Not only was it important to try and make good contacts, Mr. So had told her on their way to the club, but she was also a young woman who should just have fun and meet new people. Unfortunately, she wasn't doing well so far; Ha-neul had smiled at everyone who looked her way, but no one had spoken to her and she had no idea how to start a conversation.

Absently, she took a sip of her drink and grimaced. All the ice had melted, watering down her Coke, but at least ordering a fresh drink from the bar would give her something to do.

There was quite a crowd already gathered around the bar, placing orders and keeping the bartenders busy. Ha-neul decided this was the perfect opportunity to try and strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. "It's a pretty good party, huh?" she remarked to the pretty girl standing next to her.

To her delight, the girl responded. "It's OK," she said, looking around with (it must be admitted) a faintly condescending air. "Mine are a lot better, though."

"Oh, you throw parties like this, too?" Ha-neul asked, glad that she managed to think of a way to prolong the conversation. She noted the other girl's trendy clothes. "Are you an event planner?"

That was clearly the wrong thing to say, for a scowl twisted the stranger's face. _"An event planner?"_ she scoffed. "Don't you know who I am?"

"I-I'm sorry, but I don't," she stammered, feeling her face grow hot. "Am I supposed to?"

"She's Yoo He-yi, Korea's fairy," a low voice said suddenly, startling Ha-neul. She turned to find Shin-woo standing behind her. He gave her a small smile and nod in greeting.

"Oh, Yoo He-yi!" Ha-neul blurted out. It sounded stupid, but it was the first thing she could think of to say. "A lot of my friends are fans of yours!" That sounded much better for salvaging the conversation, but it was too late; He-yi had spun on her heel and flounced away.

"If I were you, I'd tell your friends to find another idol," Shin-woo advised, leaning against the bar. "That girl may look sweet on the outside, but inside she's poison." Glancing briefly over his shoulder, he ordered two beers.

"That's a pretty strong thing to say," Ha-neul said. What was more surprising was that it was coming from Shin-woo; when they were in elementary school, he never said anything bad about anyone.

Actually, she amended, he hardly ever said anything back then, period.

"Yes, but it's true." When the bartender handed him the beers, he gave one to Ha-neul. "Are you OK?"

She nodded. "I feel really embarrassed at not knowing her," she told him frankly, "but otherwise I'm fine."

"You're lucky that you didn't know her," Shin-woo said. "She makes everyone around her feel terrible."

Ha-neul laughed. "Did you ever work with her?"

"Once." He took a sip of his beer and inclined his head towards the seating area. "The rest of the band is here. Come on, sit with us."

"If you're sure I won't intrude..." she demurred, even though it was the best idea she had heard all night.

"You won't." With a gentle hand between her shoulder blades, Shin-woo began to steer her towards the VIP area. "The others will be happy to see you."

* * *

Just as he predicted, a bright smile spread across Jeremy's face when they approached AN JELL's booth. "Ha-neul!" he exclaimed happily, flinging out his arms in welcome. "I didn't know you were here!"

"I saw her at the bar and invited her to sit with us," Shin-woo told his bandmates. "It's OK, isn't it?"

"It's more than OK," Mi-nam said, already moving aside to make space for Ha-neul to sit. "A pretty girl at this table is always welcome. I was getting sick of looking at this sourpuss all night." He jerked a thumb at Tae-kyung, who sat stiffly in one corner of the booth.

Tae-kyung sent Mi-nam a look that would have frozen a weaker person. "Go Mi-nam," he said crisply, "you're very lucky that I have a reason to put up with your making fun of me all the time."

The other boy grinned back unrepentantly. "Yeah, I know."

"There, you see?" Shin-woo said to Ha-neul. "It's fine with everyone. Have a seat."

She smiled at the boys before sliding into the space that Mi-nam had vacated. "Thank you."

"Ha-neul, you must dance with me later," Jeremy told her.

"Jeremy, she just sat down," Tae-kyung pointed out.

"I know, that's why I said 'later.'"

"Please excuse Jeremy," Shin-woo said to Ha-neul. "They're used to a different kind of behavior in England, so some of the things he does may shock you."

"Shin-woo hyung, don't scare her!" the blond young man whined.

Ha-neul laughed to show that she wasn't scared. "How long did you live in England?" she asked Jeremy.

"Until I became a teenager," was the answer. "I came to Korea to go to high school, and almost after that I joined AN JELL. My parents still live abroad, so I guess you could say that AN JELL is my family here." He beamed at his bandmates, who reacted in different ways: Mi-nam with a comradely punch on the shoulder, Shin-woo with a fond smile, and Tae-kyung with a wry sneer (although his expression wasn't as sour as one would have expected).

"And you, Ha-neul," Jeremy asked then, "you knew Shin-woo hyung in elementary school, right?"

"Maybe you can answer a question for us," Mi-nam said when she nodded.

"That would depend on what the question is," Ha-neul answered. She glanced cautiously at Shin-woo, who shot her a faintly warning look. He had no idea what the question might be, but knowing his bandmates, it was most probably about something embarrassing.

"We were just wondering if you could tell us more about Shin-woo hyung's legend," Jeremy told her.

"His... legend?" she repeated with a confused frown.

At that, Shin-woo relaxed. "She doesn't know anything about that," he told the other boys.

"What kind of legend is that?" Ha-neul asked.

"It's silly," Shin-woo told her, hoping that the subject would be dropped.

"No, it's amazing!" Jeremy contradicted. "Shin-woo hyung's legend is that he once beat up 17 gangsters all by himself!"

She rounded on Shin-woo, wide-eyed. "Did you really do _that_?"

"All boys fight a little in school," he answered evasively. The legends were things that the AN JELL's management had thought up when the band was first starting out, to build an aura of mystery around the boys and get people to talk about them. They were a bit over-the-top so they really shouldn't be taken seriously, but there was always an element of truth behind the story and Shin-woo didn't want to discuss the one behind his.

To distract the others, he stood up. "Hey, Jeremy, didn't you say we were going to dance?" he asked brightly.

Fortunately, that did the trick. The blond young man jumped up and held out a hand to Ha-neul. "Yes, and I really like this song! Come dance with us, Ha-neul!" She smiled shyly and Shin-woo thought for a moment that she was going to say no, but Ha-neul stood up and took the offered hand.

Mi-nam rose, too, allowing Jeremy to get out of the booth and be reunited with his hand. "Are you coming with us, Tae-kyung?" he asked the only one who was still seated.

Tae-kyung shook his head. "I'm fine right here, thank you."

Instead of trying to convince him to join the rest of the group on the dance floor, Mi-nam said, "Good. You can keep an eye on Ha-neul's bag so that it doesn't get stolen." Grinning at the others, he nodded towards the dance floor. "Let's go!"

* * *

The good thing about dancing, Ha-neul thought, was that it was just like playing basketball — she didn't need to pretend that she knew what she was doing. "You're a great dancer!" Jeremy said, shouting to be heard over the pounding dance music. His hair, which stood up in gelled spikes all over his head, glowed an eerie blue-white under the club's blacklights.

She smiled back. "Thank you!" When she first became interested in basketball, her mother had made her take ballet lessons so that Ha-neul would have a ladylike activity, too. Ballet hadn't lasted as long as basketball, but she had taken lessons long enough to know that she enjoyed dancing and, it turned out, was quite good at it.

"Do you go dancing a lot?"

"Not these days, but I used to go out with my teammates!"

"Cool!"

Shin-woo smiled as he watched his friends dance. Ha-neul seemed to be over that unpleasant encounter with He-yi, and the rest of the boys in the band were relaxed and looking forward to getting some rest (even Tae-kyung, even though he seemed incapable of relaxing). Of course, AN JELL would still be holding fan events and putting together their next album, but at least they were going to do much less traveling.

Just then, a bespectacled woman accompanied by a photographer approached them. "Excuse me, AN JELL members, I'm Lee Yeun-ja from _Young Life_ magazine. Could we have a picture for our nightlife section?"

"Of course, noona!" Jeremy answered. Ha-neul tried to step out of the frame, but he took her arm to prevent her from leaving. "Ha-neul, you should take the picture with us!"

"But—"

"Come on," Shin-woo told her encouragingly. "It will look boring if it's just us guys."

Still a bit confused by what was happening, Ha-neul let herself be pulled between him and Jeremy and smiled obligingly for the camera, crowding close when the photographer asked them to do so. The flash was a bit startling in the near-darkness of the club, but she knew well enough not to blink.

"Where is Hwang Tae-kyung?" Reporter Lee asked after several pictures were taken.

"He's somewhere around," Mi-nam replied. "He's feeling well enough to celebrate with us here tonight, but the doctor said no dancing for a while."

She frowned in concern. "He is getting better, isn't he?" she asked, referring to recent news reports that Tae-kyung had shown signs of fatigue during the last part of AN JELL's tour. However, like the committed musician that he was, he hadn't missed a single performance.

"Oh, yes, he's getting better," Shin-woo assured her. "Now that our tour is over, he will be getting lots of rest." He smiled. "We all will!"

"That's good news for all of you, I'm sure!" To Ha-neul's surprise, the next question was for her. "Miss, could you give us your name, please?"

"This is our friend Ha-neul," Jeremy informed the reporter.

"Yes, my name is So Ha-neul," she said, bowing to the older woman. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"She's a model," Mi-nam added.

"I'm not surprised, being as tall as you are," Reporter Lee said, looking over Ha-neul appraisingly. Then she laughed. "I'm also not surprised that a girl whose name means 'heaven' is friends with angels!"

Ha-neul laughed. "I guess there's a natural attraction."

"Well, it was nice meeting you, So Ha-neul, and nice to see you guys again," the reporter said. "Hopefully later, we can have a picture of all the members of AN JELL."

After Reporter Lee took her leave, they danced a little while longer before Jeremy declared that he was thirsty and it was time for another drink. The others heartily agreed and began to troop off the dance floor.

On their way back to their table, Ha-neul touched Shin-woo's arm to get his attention. "That reporter earlier... why did she ask for my name?"

He blinked. "So she would know what name to write when your picture appears in her magazine, of course. Haven't you had your picture published before?"

She blushed, embarrassed over asking such a stupid question. "I have, but those were articles about the basketball team, and advertisements. No one ever had to ask for my name."

Shin-woo grinned. "Exciting, huh?"

She nodded, smiling as well. "Thanks for inviting me to join you guys tonight."

"It's nothing," he replied. "We're old friends. We should look out for each other."

Ha-neul ducked her head. His idea of "old friends" seemed to be different from hers; they knew each other from school, but had not been close. Perhaps Shin-woo was just being nice. Whether or not he really meant it, she was glad he thought he should look out for her. Having a fairly familiar face around would help make this entire modeling thing a little less terrifying.

"What?" he asked when she made no reply. "You don't think we should look out for each other?"

"No!" She looked back up at him, laughing at the faintly teasing expression on his face. "I was just thinking that I like that idea."

"Oh. Good." He smiled. "I really mean it, too. If you ever see me or any of the others at events like this or if you need help with anything, don't hesitate to approach, OK?" He chuckled. "I promise Tae-kyung doesn't bite."

* * *

It was true; Tae-kyung never bit anyone, because biting was unsanitary. He was, however, less likely to even be tempted to bite anyone ever since very publicly declaring his love for Go Mi-Nyeo a year ago. Although Mi-Nyeo still went off to do missionary work in Africa, Tae-kyung was secure in the knowledge that he had made his feelings known to her; what was more, he knew that she felt the same way about him. Somehow, that brought him some peace.

It brought him a lot of inspiration, too, which was good for the band. That day, Tae-kyung demonstrated for the rest of AN JELL his new song, which was going to be the first single off the album that they were recording that fall. The song, called "Can't Wait," was a catchy pop number about someone missing his (or her) significant other and looking forward to the time when they would be together again.

"At least something good came out of hyung's not being able to speak to Mi-Nyeo on the phone last week," Jeremy chuckled, tapping out a random beat on his high hat.

"Don't tease him," Mi-nam chided, for once not taking the lead in needling Tae-kyung. "He's still a bit grouchy about that."

From his seat behind the piano, Tae-kyung sent his bandmates a narrow-eyed glance. "What did you think about the song?"

Jeremy raised his hands to give a double thumbs-up. "I think it's great!"

Shin-woo nodded in agreement. "It's perfect for our first single."

"Yeah," Mi-nam said. "Even though I still think it's weird that I'm singing songs about my sister."

Having garnered his bandmates' approval, Tae-kyung turned to the men in the engineering booth. "What do you think, President Ahn?" he asked.

"Do I have to say it, Tae-kyung?" Their manager thrust his arms in the air. "_Marvelous! Number One!_ If you guys do a rough recording today, I can start thinking up a concept for the music video!"

"Are you up for it, Tae-kyung?" Shin-woo asked him.

The vocalist nodded as he handed out copies of the sheet music. "I can rest my voice while you learn the song." Although his vocal chords still weren't as good as they had once been, having another strong singer in the group helped Tae-kyung's condition improve to the point where he didn't have to lip-synch during live performances anymore. Nevertheless, the band remained cautious and made sure he didn't over-exert himself. "And maybe," Tae-kyung suggested, "you could write a little rap or something for the instrumental? I feel like it's too long, but don't want to shorten it."

Shin-woo smiled, happy to have an opportunity to contribute. "I'll do my best to come up with something."

Mi-nam sat down on the couch with his copy of the song. "This makes me wonder what kind of songs you'll write when Mi-nyeo finally comes back for good next month," he remarked, and grinned. "Make sure they'll turn out to be just as good, OK, brother-in-law?"

Tae-kyung glared even as the ghost of a smug smile flickered across his face at the playful nickname. "Get to work, Go Mi-nam."

"Yes, sir!"


	3. Temperamental

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're Beautiful_. Aerosmith, Queen and Melissa Etheridge belong to themselves. I only own Ha-neul, and her family and friends.

**Technical Notes:** For some reason, Stylist Wang does not have a first name in canon, so I have taken the liberty of giving her one. We also don't know the exact location of the AN Entertainment offices, but I'm assuming it's somewhere downtown so I stuck it in the Gangnam District.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to LoveCore and Dawn Ivory for reviewing!

_Chapter Three - Temperamental (Mr. Big)_

"We should go into this store! They have a lot of things that would be super-cute on you."

"But Su-_jiiiiin_," Ha-neul whined as she dragged her feet down a sidewalk in Seoul's Myeongdong District, where the girls were shopping that afternoon, "I'm tired and I'm running out of money... and I have an appointment whis afternoon, remember?"

The other girl pouted, but there was no way she could argue. "OK, but we should definitely go there next time. _And_ you promised you'd get your hair cut," she added, making sure Ha-neul wasn't going to back out of that after a lunch break spent convincing her to get a new look.

"I know," Ha-neul said, and smiled at her friend. "Thanks for helping me shop."

"Hey, if I can't wear it, I might as well see it on someone I actually like so I don't feel so bad," Su-jin joked, and then she smiled back. "You're welcome. This was a lot of fun, and at least I get to see you and hear all the latest idol gossip. But I guess I should let you go now," she added with a dramatic sigh. "And I should head back to the office. Are you _sure_ you're not hiring a personal stylist?"

She laughed. "Not now, but maybe when I'm rich and famous, OK?"

The two friends bade each other goodbye and Ha-neul started towards where she had parked her car, swinging her numerous shopping bags as she walked. Clothes shopping with a friend was always helpful because you had someone who would honestly tell you whether or not you looked good (at least, Su-jin never hesitated to tell you if you looked bad). She still relied a lot on her friend's opinion, but Ha-neul liked to think she was learning to find things on her own, too.

She was about to cross a street when she became aware of someone calling her name. Turning, she frowned thoughtfully at the person coming towards her, smiling only when she recognized him as Shin-woo. "Hi!" Ha-neul greeted him as he drew near. "I almost didn't recognize you with your disguise." He was wearing a baseball cap and glasses, ostensibly to hide himself from fans.

"I almost didn't recognize you, either," Shin-woo replied, nodding at the lacy gray skirt and violet sweater she was wearing. "Are you in disguise, too?"

She made a face at his joking tone of voice. "No, I have a photo shoot this afternoon and I wanted to look nice."

He smiled. "Well, you do look nice," he told her, sounding sincere this time.

Ha-neul blushed self-consciously at the compliment. "Thank you. I'll have to tell Su-jin that; she helped me pick this out. You remember Su-jin, don't you? The friend I brought with me to the concert?" By now, she was aware that she was babbling and decided this was a very good time to change the subject. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Are you shopping, too?"

"No, I was just hanging around and people-watching. It relaxes me... but I should get going myself. We have rehearsals this afternoon."

"Do you need a ride?" she offered. "I'm going to the Gangnam District and my car is parked not far from here."

"That's where I'm headed. Can you take me to the AN Entertainment offices?" Shin-woo had parked his car there and taken the subway to Myeongdong, the commute being another great opportunity to people-watch and experience the city like an ordinary citizen.

Ha-neul nodded. "Sure." Her GPS would make it easy to find the way there.

"Maybe you can drop by and say hello to President Ahn if he's in."

"I wish I could," she said ruefully, "but I probably can't." Visiting her father's old friend sounded like a good idea, but she just didn't have the time. Besides, there were more important people that she needed to impress, namely those that she would be working with that afternoon. "I want to make sure I get to the photo shoot before my call time."

He shrugged good-naturedly. "Maybe next time, then. Now, we should probably get going so you aren't late for your session." Reaching over, Shin-woo took her shopping bags.

Ha-neul started at the funny tingle that raced up her arm as his fingers brushed hers, but decided to pretend that nothing happened when he didn't seem to be affected by it. "Thanks. Shall we go?" she asked with a bright smile before turning on her heel and starting again towards where she had parked her car.

_It was purely accidental contact, _she told herself. _And it's not like boys haven't touched your hand before! Now stop acting like you're still in middle school!_

Nevertheless, she didn't regain her composure until after they were already in the car, on their way to the Gangnam District, and Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" was blaring on the stereo, courtesy of her MP3 player. "I didn't know you were a fan of rock music," Shin-woo remarked.

"I love it," Ha-neul replied, her eyes on the road. "Is that weird?"

"No. It's just that I don't know many girls who like music like that."

"Is it because most of the girls you know are your fans?"

"Maybe," he admitted with a chuckle. "So how did you get interested in it?"

"My parents played it all the time. I guess my dad heard some American music when he was younger and really liked it, so I grew up listening to bands like Queen and Aerosmith. It was also a pretty good way to learn English," she added.

Shin-woo chuckled when a rap song came on over the speakers. "Did your parents like this song, too?"

"Of course not," Ha-neul laughed. "They started me on that path, but I discovered the rest myself. Some of the newer music I picked up from my teammates; we like to listen to that kind of thing before games, to get us in a fighting mood."

"That sounds cool. Hey, you know what?" he asked as an idea came to him. "AN JELL is going to film a music video soon. We don't know what the concept will be yet, but you should audition for a role in it."

She was quiet for a while as she considered it. "It's not going to be too sexy or anything, is it?"

"Of course not," he assured her. "We have a very clean image. It'll be just like a very long TV commercial. You've done those before, right?"

She had, for the facial wash and health drink, but she hadn't done much acting in either case. If she did the video, she would be working with Shin-woo and his bandmates, who were professionals at this sort of thing. "Yes, but I don't really know..."

"Come on," Shin-woo cajoled, "it'll be good for your career. And it will be good for us, too, because we already know you. We won't have to waste time getting comfortable with each other and just get straight to work."

"Knowing each other and working together are two different things," Ha-neul pointed out.

"Well, I think I know you well enough to be sure that you're a good worker. Don't you want to save us from having to work with someone like He-yi again?"

"Wasn't she a good worker?"

"She was a professional," he acknowledged, "but did not get along well with the team."

"How do you know I'll get along well with you?"

He rolled his eyes. Now she was just being difficult. "You get along well with me, Jeremy and Mi-nam, don't you? And Tae-kyung doesn't seem to have a problem with you — which is saying a lot!" Shin-woo chuckled as they pulled up outside AN Entertainment. "Promise me you'll think about it, at least?"

He was glad to see that Ha-neul nodded. "I'll discuss it with my father."

* * *

As it turned out, she didn't have to mention anything to her father. "I got a call from your Uncle Sung-chan this afternoon," Mr. So said when Ha-neul, home from her photo shoot, entered the kitchen of their home. "He mentioned something about your possibly auditioning for the new AN JELL music video."

Both her bag and her jaw dropped. "Why, that sneaky son of a...!"

_"Ha-neul!"_ he admonished. "Is that the way you refer to an elder?"

"I wasn't talking about him, Appa. I was talking about Shin-woo! I can't believe he could be so high-handed!" She told her father about running into Shin-woo and his suggestion that she audition for a role in AN JELL's new music video. "I told him I would discuss it with you, which was exactly what I was about to do, but now I don't have to do that because he went ahead and told Uncle so _he_ could talk to you about it!"

"Now, now, let's calm down. How do you know Sung-chan didn't come up with the idea on his own? And it's not as if you got the role outright," Mr. So added. "You're not getting any preferential treatment; you still have to audition."

"That's true," Ha-neul grumbled.

"But if Kang Shin-woo did make a suggestion to him, then you should be glad you have a friend who wants to help you further your career."

She sighed. "That's true, too." Even if she still thought it was inappropriate of him to push this on her, without even giving her time to consider the idea. "What did you tell Uncle?"

"I told him I would make sure you were interested before submitting any application." He arched an inquiring eyebrow at her. "Are you going to audition?"

A pause. "I guess so," Ha-neul said, turning towards the refrigerator to get herself a drink and avoid her father's gaze in the process. She knew she was being childish about this forced audition, but the way Shin-woo went over her head about it really rankled.

* * *

Ha-neul was still grumbling as she walked towards AN Entertainment's main entrance a few weeks later. She knew she was supposed to be happy, because she had auditioned just like everyone else and was cast based on her own merits, but she was still a little put out over essentially being railroaded into entering the whole thing. She would have inconvenienced a lot of people if she had decided not to go through with it, and that would have been rude. With a sigh, she admitted that it would also have been foolish; regardless of how she came to audition, doing the video would ultimately benefit her career, especially if it became popular.

Suddenly, a khaki-clad security guard stepped into her path. "I'm sorry, miss, but I can't let you through."

"But I have an appointment with President Ahn," she protested.

"We didn't receive any instructions regarding special guests today," he told her.

"Can't you call his office and check the names of the people who are supposed to see him today?" Ha-neul asked.

The guard scowled at her. "Miss," he snapped, "I don't care if you're the President of South Korea; you're not getting through!"

Huffing in frustration, Ha-neul turned away, reaching for her hand phone, and became aware that large crowds were lining the walkway. A girl sitting nearby on a folding stool gave her a sympathetic look. "We've all tried that excuse before," she said. "It's never worked for us."

"But I really do have an appointment," Ha-neul said, typing out a text message for the AN Entertainment president. "I'm going to be late if they don't let me in, and I hate being late."

"Are you a singer?" the girl asked with interest.

That made her laugh. "No, I'm a model. At least," she added, not wanting to sound like she was bragging, "that's my job."

"Oh. I thought you were a singer." The girl didn't sound impressed. Ha-neul guessed from the angel-wing hairband she wore that she was an AN JELL fan and didn't care too much for models, especially ones that weren't famous.

Suddenly, a plump girl came charging up to them. "I'm so sorry I'm late," she gasped to the girl on the folding stool. "Have our oppas arrived yet?"

"Fortunately for you, not yet," the first girl answered with a scowl. "How would it have looked if AN JELL arrived and one of their fan club's officers wasn't there to greet them? As President, I would have been humiliated!"

"I said I was sorry, Sayuri! The bus I was riding broke down and I had to wait for another."

The latecomer was spared from further browbeating because all of a sudden, shrieking erupted all around them. The excitement was centered around a white van that had pulled up at the end of the walkway. The van's doors opened and, sure enough, the four members of AN JELL emerged. A phalanx of security guards moved out to keep the crowd at bay, but even with that deterrent the boys still had smiles and waves for their fans.

As the group neared the office's main entrance, Shin-woo spied a girl standing head and shoulders above the crowd and recognized Ha-neul. "Hey, Ha-neul!" he called out to her. "What are you doing out here?"

She shot him an irritated look. "I have an appointment with President Ahn," she answered, "but the security guards wouldn't let me in."

"_You_ have an appointment with President Ahn?" Jeremy asked. "We have one with him, too! Is this about the music video?"

A broad grin spread over Shin-woo's face when the girl nodded. "You got the part! That's great!"

"But you can't attend the meeting if you're out here!" Jeremy said. Reaching out, he grabbed her arm and towed her out of the crowd, past the security guards and into the inner circle. "Come on, let's go. We don't want to be late!"

Ha-neul's mood was not improved any by her experiences that morning, but at least one good thing happened: she managed to give the dumbstruck security guards a Presidential wave before she was swept in a tide of band members, entourage and security inside the AN Entertainment offices.

* * *

President Ahn was all smiles as the group entered his office. "You're all here together! _Marvelous, marvelous!_" He gestured towards the sitting area that occupied the middle of the room. "Everyone have a seat and let's get down to business."

Ha-neul found herself seated beside a tall, thin woman wearing a violently patterned jumpsuit and ropes of chunky bead necklaces. A small hat with a net veil perched on her long, rather frizzy hair. Ha-neul didn't realize she had been staring until the woman smiled at her. "I'm Wang Sang-mee," she said, "style coordinator for AN JELL."

"I'm So Ha-neul," she replied.

"I know. I helped screen the auditions." Stylist Wang smiled at her. "I'm so glad you're in the video! Girls are so much more fun to dress than boys."

"Noona!" protested Jeremy, who had overheard and was now looking hurt.

"But I have more fun dressing you most of all," the stylist assured him, pinching his cheek fondly. Tae-kyung rolled his eyes as Jeremy beamed. It didn't take much to make the blond boy happy.

Ha-neul laughed. "My friend Su-jin will tell you that it's only fun when the girl doesn't insist on dressing like a boy," she said to Stylist Wang.

The stylist's eyes widened. "Was she talking about you? No matter," she said with a queenly wave of her well-manicured hand. "Once I'm through with you, no one will recognize you."

"Please don't overdo it, noona," Shin-woo told her, and shot Ha-neul a smile. "We like her just the way she is."

President Ahn chose that moment to call the meeting to order, so Ha-neul did not get the opportunity to interrogate Shin-woo about his part in all of this until after the meeting was over and they were on their way to lunch. She tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and remain open to the possibility that President Ahn had come up with the idea of having her audition on his own, but Shin-woo seemed much too pleased with himself to be completely innocent. "Everything worked out perfectly, didn't it?" he asked her cheerfully as the group made its way down the corridor.

"It's almost too good to be true," Ha-neul agreed.

"The restaurant that President Ahn chose today is a very good one. It's one of his favorites and he only takes us there on special occasions."

Since her pointed remark had failed to realize its intended effect, she decided that a more direct approach was in order. "Did you have anything to do with that choice as well?"

Shin-woo had just begun to realize that the girl was not in a very good mood when heavy arms draped across their shoulders, startling them both. Jeremy had slung his arms around them and now stuck his head between theirs. "Ha-neul, since we're going to be working together," he told her, "you'll have to call me 'boss.' Or 'oppa.' How about 'oppa' instead?" he added hastily when a strange expression crossed her face. "I'll accept 'oppa' if you say it in a really cute voice."

It seemed that it took some effort, but she managed to smile at him. "I'll think about it."

"Shin-woo, why don't you ride with Ha-neul to the restaurant?" Tae-kyung suggested suddenly.

He blinked, surprised at the suggestion. "What?"

"You should ride with Ha-neul to the restaurant," his bandmate repeated. "She might not know the way." To the average onlooker, his expression was perfectly neutral, but Shin-woo knew that Tae-kyung had something up his sleeve; otherwise, he wouldn't have troubled himself with something as mundane as making sure a virtual stranger did not get lost.

_"Good idea!"_ their manager agreed before anyone could say anything. "We can't take just one car to the restaurant, and besides, you boys have to be good oppas to Ha-neul. As you know, her dad is an old friend of mine and she's never done this sort of thing before. That was very considerate of you, Tae-kyung."

"Thank you, President Ahn." Tae-kyung smiled angelically at the compliment and, once the older man had moved on, yanked a protesting Jeremy away from the pair. "See you at the restaurant," he told them over his shoulder.

Shin-woo glanced at Ha-neul and noted that she didn't look happy at the prospect of giving him a ride. Still, it seemed that she was going to leave him to his own devices because she looked at him and jerked her head towards the retreating backs of their companions. "Let's go."

Neither of them spoke again until after they were on their way and an angry-girl rock band was blasting on the stereo. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Ha-neul was silent for a moment before asking a question of her own. "Did you... say anything to President Ahn about getting me to audition for the video?" That was good, she thought. She supposed that she still sounded a bit snippy, but at least her words didn't accuse him of anything.

Shin-woo frowned thoughtfully. "I think I mentioned to him that I told you to think about auditioning," he answered.

"I see."

"Did I do something wrong?" Was this what had been bothering her? he wondered. All he had done was idly talk about it with someone. It wasn't supposed to be a major secret, not if she had been meaning to talk to her father about it; and if it was, she should have told him to keep it a secret — he was quite good at that. Girls, Shin-woo decided, were weird. Go Mi-nyeo had not behaved this strangely, but then she had been pretending to be a guy for most of the time they had been together.

"No," Ha-neul said, sounding calmer now. "It's just that President Ahn called my father before I even had a chance to talk to him."

"Oh." He looked away, flushing guiltily. "I'm sorry. I suppose I should have also said that you wanted to discuss it with your father first."

"It's all right." She sounded as though she meant it. "He didn't just give me the role, nothing like that, but... well, I felt as though he was expecting me to apply and I had no choice but to go through with it. I suppose I overreacted," she offered. "I'm sure President Ahn wouldn't think that way."

"No, he's very easygoing," Shin-woo said. "And when it comes to business, he won't expect anything unless he has a signed contract in front of him."

"I'll remember that." He heard her turn the music down, hopefully another sign that she wasn't angry anymore. "But ultimately," Ha-neul added, "this is still your fault."

He turned sharply, but his protestations of innocence died at the teasing grin that had spread across her face. "You're evil," he told her, and they both laughed, the ice broken. "Who is this singing?" he asked as another song began to play.

"The singer's name is Melissa Etheridge," Ha-neul answered. "She's been around for a while, but I really like her music."

Shin-woo listened for a moment before nodding approvingly. "She sounds good."

"I like it because it speaks for me," she went on. "I'm not really good at expressing myself, so I have to use the words of others. You're lucky you can make your own music to express yourself."

"Yes, I am, aren't I?" he replied with a small smile.


	4. Million Dollar Smile

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're Beautiful_. The song "Hello I Love You," a part of which is quoted in the text, belongs to the Doors, and "Let It Be" to the Beatles. Jim Morrison, late lead singer of the Doors; Ham Ji-hoon, star center in the Korean Basketball League; and George Harrison, late lead guitarist of the Beatles, belong to themselves and/or their heirs.

**Technical Notes:** Sayuri's friends don't seem to have names, either (and I double-checked this time!), so I gave them names, too.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to LoveCore for reviewing! :)

_Chapter Four - Million Dollar Smile (Paul Gilbert)_

It was early in the morning, but already a crowd was growing just outside a cordoned-off area in Seoul's Olympic Park. Information had leaked from various sources that AN JELL was going to begin shooting their new music video there, so a large number of fans and media had turned out to observe the proceedings.

Of course, the AN JELL fan club officers were there to support their idols. "I wonder what this video is going to be about," mused one girl, stifling a yawn. She had left the house extra early to make sure she wasn't going to be late and earn the wrath of her fan club president one more time.

Fortunately for her, Sayuri was deep in thought and didn't scold her for sounding bored. "I don't know, Ae-sook. I read so many rumors on the Internet that it's hard to put them together. Do you remember what else we read, Hyun-jae?"

Her other friend pulled a notepad out of her purse. "AN Entertainment rented some motorcycles," Hyun-jae reported. "They also cast other people to be in the video." The girls had already seen several leather-clad young men and women walk past them and onto the set. Then Hyun-jae frowned. "One of the bulletin board postings also mentioned something about... baking?"

"Motorcycles... extras..." Sayuri gasped as an idea came to her. "Maybe they're going to reenact Shin-woo oppa's legend!"

"With all four of them riding motorcycles!" Ae-sook said, perking up. "That would be so cool!"

The fan club president gave a stately nod of approval. "We should put that in our next fanfic."

"But what does baking have to do with all of this?" Hyun-jae asked.

Just then, the AN JELL van pulled up and excited shrieking broke out. Through waving hands and popping flashbulbs, the girls saw AN JELL making their way to the set. To their surprise, only Mi-nam was dressed like a biker in beat-up blue jeans, boots and a leather jacket. The others, though well-dressed, were not wearing outfits that looked like they belonged in the video.

"This isn't supposed to be a solo single," Hyun-jae said, puzzled. Between this and the baking, this was really confusing. "Their official website says that the new video is for an AN JELL song. The whole group should be in it."

"Maybe this is just Mi-nam oppa's part of the video," Ae-sook suggested. "That means they'll be filming others, too!"

"That makes sense. The thing I read about baking really didn't fit in with this concept."

Sayuri's eyes widened as another figure appeared. "I know that girl!" she exclaimed, pointing. "I spoke to her last week when the guards wouldn't let her in!"

"Ooh, I saw that!" said Ae-sook. "I remember thinking that she was very tall."

"She told me she was a model," Sayuri told her friends importantly. "I guess she really did have an appointment that day. Who knew it because she was going to be in a music video with AN JELL?"

Ha-neul was unaware that someone in the crowd had recognized her. Everyone was there to see AN JELL in person; all she had to do was mind her own business and focus on doing a good job. Still, the idea of making her way through that madness was intimidating, and she knew she wouldn't have looked so self-assured if she hadn't had Jim Morrison crooning in her ear.

_She's walking down the street_

_Blind to every eye she meets_

_Do you think you can be the guy_

_To make the queen of the angels sigh? ..._

The security guard escorted her to the dressing area, where Ha-neul changed into her costume, a more feminine version of Mi-nam's getup. Once she was dressed, she went over to hair and makeup, where she was hustled into a chair next to Mi-nam, who was getting his hair styled while his bandmates kept him company.

"Ha-neul! You look amazing!" Jeremy exclaimed as he whipped out his hand phone. "Let me take a picture of you for our homepage."

"No!" Ha-neul gasped. "They're still fixing me up."

"That's OK; it's a 'behind the scenes' picture. I want our fans to see what it's like on the set of our new video."

"Besides, you look fine," Shin-woo assured her.

Even Tae-kyung offered some support. "At least you're not wearing curlers in your hair," he said with a snicker.

"She'll be wearing a helmet for most of this sequence, so it doesn't make sense to give her an elaborate hairstyle," Stylist Wang said as she ran a brush through Ha-neul's long hair. "But still, I'm so happy I have a girl to dress for this video. It's like having my own living Barbie doll."

"Yeah, one that's even bigger than you," Mi-nam chuckled, squinting against the blast of the blow-dryer. Of all the AN JELL boys, only Tae-kyung came close to being as tall as Ha-neul in her high-heeled boots (and that was thanks to his hair). "It's a good thing we'll be sitting down in all our scenes. Ow!" he yelped when the object of his teasing took advantage of her long legs and gave him a not-so-gentle nudge with her foot.

"That serves you right," Stylist Wang told him. "Now stop picking on her so I can finish and the shooting can begin."

"Yes, noona." As instructed, Mi-nam behaved himself until their call time. He even gave Ha-neul a charming smile and helped her out of her chair. "Shall we?"

Shin-woo sidled up to Ha-neul as they all walked towards the set together. "Remember," he said to her, "it's just like a very long TV commercial."

She took a deep breath and swung her arms to loosen the muscles and try to relax. "I can do this," she told herself.

He smiled and gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I know you can. Good luck."

* * *

There wasn't much acting to do in this sequence; all Ha-neul really had to do was not fall off the back of the motorcycle, whip off her helmet with a cool smile and hang out with Mi-nam and the extras in the scene. Nevertheless, she did her best and made minimal mistakes, and the director seemed pleased with her efforts. "You're doing a very good job, Ha-neul," he told her when they broke for lunch.

"Thank you, Director Han," she answered with a smile.

A production assistant came forward with a bottle of water and Ha-neul's bag. Ha-neul thanked the young man and had just slung the bag over her shoulder, ready to go to lunch, when it began to vibrate.

"Where are you?" Su-jin asked when she answered her phone. "Are you done shooting yet?"

"Hi, Su-jin. We're done for now and are about to have lunch. Where are you?"

"I'm here, outside the set! I read on the AN JELL website that you were shooting here today and thought I'd try to visit!"

"Oh! That would be great!" Ha-neul hurried towards the crowd of fans she had seen earlier.

The girls spotted each other quickly and Ha-neul got her friend past security. "She's my personal assistant," she told the guard, and hustled her friend away before the man could question Su-jin about her bank employee uniform.

"This is so cool!" Su-jin exclaimed as they walked, goggling at the equipment and racks of costumes. "You look great, too. Are all the AN JELL members here?"

As if in answer to her question, someone called Ha-neul's name. Mi-nam was waving to her from a table, at which he sat with the rest of his bandmates. "Come eat with us!"

Smiling, Ha-neul nodded and the girls went to get food from the buffet lunch that had been set up for the performers and crew. "Hi, guys," she greeted them as they approached the table. "You remember Su-jin, right?"

"Of course, she's your friend from the concert." Shin-woo nodded and smiled in greeting. The other boys did the same — except for Jeremy, who scowled, perhaps remembering the set-down Su-jin had given him that night. However, the blond young man didn't protest when the others made space at the table so that the girls could join them.

Su-jin was full of questions about the video, which kept Ha-neul and the boys busy either answering her questions or being evasive when she asked about what the rest of the video was going to be like, which the band's management had told them not to discuss. They were able to confirm that each band member would have his own segment with Ha-neul in the video, but couldn't give out any additional details.

"Well, I think it's great that you're going to have a big part in this video," Su-jin told her friend proudly. "I'm excited to be able to tell people that you're my best friend!"

"You mean you were never excited to tell people that before?" Ha-neul joked.

The other girl gave her a playful smack on the arm, and then gasped. "Hey, when that video gets uploaded online, you should send the link to Cicero!"

That got the guys' attention. "Cicero?" Mi-nam repeated with a quizzical arch of an eyebrow.

"Just a friend from the Olympics," Ha-neul explained. She could feel her face grow warm and, conscious that they were all looking at her keenly, hoped it wasn't obvious through the stage makeup.

"He was the most handsome guy on the Spanish men's basketball team," Su-jin sighed, and sent her friend a sideways glance. "And out of all the girls making fools of themselves over him, he became close to Ha-neul."

"Well, there was never anything between us other than friendship," Ha-neul clarified, praying all the while that someone would change the subject. "Mostly, he was helping me improve my hook shot."

"He did have the most beautiful hook shot," Su-jin said dreamily.

"Did it work?" Jeremy asked.

That seemed to distract Su-jin from the subject of Cicero and the dreamy smile on her face crumpled into a scowl. "Of course it did! What is it with you and girls who play basketball?"

Embarrassed, Ha-neul hastened to smooth things over. "Su-jin, calm down. Jeremy was—"

If there was one thing that "Jeremy was," it was spoiling for a fight. "I just don't think girls should play sports where they could hurt themselves, that's all!" he retorted. "I'm just trying to be gentlemanly here!"

"Well, you're not being gentlemanly," Su-jin told him. "You're being chauvinistic, and I've had it. I'm challenging you to a basketball game. Two-on-two," she went on. "Me and Ha-neul against you and anyone you want."

Ha-neul's jaw dropped at suddenly being included, but she didn't contradict her friend. "Sorry, Jeremy," she said instead, "but Su-jin has a point." She was proud of being a basketball player, and it had been a while since she had the opportunity to play alongside any of her old teammates.

"Even if you get Ham Ji-hoon to play on your team," Su-jin told Jeremy, "I promise we're going to give you a good fight. Maybe we'll even win." The entire point of the challenge was to prove that girls could be competitive at contact sports; winning would be nice, but it would just be icing on the cake.

The blond boy smirked at the "maybe." "You're on!"

* * *

That very night, Jeremy made the rounds among his bandmates, trying to find a teammate for Su-jin's challenge. "You can't be serious," was Tae-kyung's response to the invitation.

"Of course I'm serious, hyung! Will you be my teammate?" he wheedled. At Jeremy's side, Angelina Jolie wagged her tail and eyed Tae-kyung soulfully.

Unmoved by the matching dog-and-master puppydog eyes, the vocalist turned a page in the magazine he was reading. "No."

"But, hyung, don't you want to help me prove that men are better than women?"

"Don't you remember, Jeremy? Tae-kyung's allergic to perspiration," Mi-nam reminded his bandmate. Tae-kyung's eyes narrowed at the ridiculous statement, but he said nothing; he could afford to let Jeremy believe that for a while, especially if it was going to keep him out of that crazy challenge.

Jeremy turned to Mi-nam with a hopeful expression on his face. "What about you, Mi-nam? Will you be my teammate?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry, Jeremy, but I'm not going anywhere near those girls when they have those looks on their faces."

"Hmph!" Jeremy sniffed disdainfully, sounding every bit like his aristocratic English ancestors. "You're too short, anyway. Where's Shin-woo hyung?"

Shin-woo was out on the upper deck of the house with his guitar in his lap, trying to compose a song. This wasn't the addition that Tae-kyung had requested for "Can't Wait," which he had already finished, but a song of his own. He didn't really have an idea of how he wanted the song to sound yet, knowing only that he wanted to write one. Hopefully, it would be good enough to be included in the upcoming album.

Jeremy and Jolie came upon Shin-woo as he was picking out random notes on the strings. "Shin-woo hyung, will you be my teammate?"

"What's the matter?" Shin-woo teased, giving Jolie an affectionale scratch behind the ears. "Did Ham Ji-hoon say no?"

"Actually, he was _begging_ me to let him play," Jeremy bantered back, "but I turned him down. I figured I would do better if I had someone I knew and trusted on my side."

"Have you asked the others?"

"Yeah, but Tae-kyung hyung is allergic to sweat or something, and Mi-nam's scared of Su-jin. What's so scary about her? She's small and loud, and... that's it." He wiped the distasteful frown off his face. "Anyway, hyung, after I asked them, I realized that you were the best choice anyway."

Shin-woo arched an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Why am I the best choice?"

"Well, for one thing, you're taller than Mi-nam," Jeremy began, ticking off the reasons on his fingers. He had obviously given some thought to his sales pitch. "And you're better at sports than Tae-kyung hyung. You're pretty good when we play basketball against our backup dancers. Then, like I said, we're in a band together so I know we would play well as a team. _And_," he finished triumphantly, "since you and Ha-neul knew each other when you were kids, you should be able to defend against her well!"

"But I've never played basketball against Ha-neul," Shin-woo pointed out. "And we knew each other a very long time ago. I'm not familiar with the way she plays."

"Still, you're the best choice for my team," Jeremy insisted. "Come on, won't you be my teammate?"

Jolie rested her head on Shin-woo's knee and let out a pleading whine. That made him chuckle; he was sure Jeremy would do the same thing if he thought it would help his case. Fortunately, there was no need to go that far. "OK," Shin-woo said finally. "It's nice to be the best choice for once."

* * *

The second day of shooting, during which two segments were scheduled to be filmed, was held at the mansion where the AN JELL members all lived. The first, starring Tae-kyung, was to be filmed in the sunken music room, which was dominated by the white baby grand piano on which the AN JELL vocalist had written a fair number of the band's hit songs.

Stylist Wang clapped delightedly as she ushered Ha-neul onto the set. "You look so beautiful!"

Ha-neul had to agree. Unlike the first segment, where she had worn stylish yet still rugged motorcycle gear, today she was wearing a white dress trimmed with a black sash, and matching high heels. Simple diamond jewelry and small flowers in her hair completed the look. It was feminine but not fussy, which she liked a lot. "Well, it's all thanks to you, Stylist Wang."

"Call me unni," the stylist reminded her. "And yes, I know." She preened visibly. "This segment is going to be fabulous!"

"Oh, Ha-neul, you look so beautiful!" Jeremy exclaimed when he saw her. The boys had been standing with Tae-kyung, who was also dressed in black and white, waiting for the shooting to begin. They, too, looked her over appreciatively, which made Ha-neul blush.

Jeremy reached out a hand to help her down the steps, but Director Han intercepted her before she could go any further. "Listen, everyone," he announced. "This segment will be a simple one, so I want every move to be perfect! In this scene, we start with Ha-neul making her way down the stairs. Ha-neul, you'll walk over to the piano, where you'll watch Tae-kyung play music for you—"

"Sounds like that fanfic I read yesterday," Jeremy commented to the others. "Except Shin-woo hyung was the one doing the watching."

"The feel we're going for here is elegant and graceful," the director went on. "We don't have lots of extras or flashy effects in this scene, so it's you, the actors, who have to make it work. Now, places! Aaaand... _action!_"

Praying that she wouldn't fall flat on her face in front of everyone and in such a pretty outfit, Ha-neul walked down the steps and over to the piano, stopping at the spot that Director Han had indicated. The camera moved across the doorway to reveal Tae-kyung already seated at the instrument. "Any requests?" he asked her with the friendliest smile she had ever seen on him. (That was probably all thanks to the fact that they were being filmed. Since the song would be the only sound heard on the video, it was their actions and facial expressions that was most important.)

"Hmmm... how about 'Let It Be'?" Ha-neul suggested.

He nodded approvingly and started to play. "That's a good song."

"It's one of my favorites."

"Lean a bit on the piano," Director Han instructed.

"The guitar solo in the original is amazing." She draped herself over the piano, trying to make it look graceful. "I think it was interesting that George Harrison was the Beatle who didn't say much, but—" Suddenly, she frowned. "I'm sorry, could we stop filming for a minute?"

"Cut!" the director said. "What's wrong, Ha-neul?"

"These heels are pretty, but they're making me too tall," she complained. "I feel like I'm going to fall onto the piano." They were making her feet hurt, too. She kicked them off and leaned on the piano again. "That's much better."

"Wait!" Director Han exclaimed, rushing onto the set. "Why don't you remove your shoes when you reach the bottom of the stairs? I think it would add a casual, intimate touch to this scene. Otherwise it would be really formal and boring. What do you think?"

Ha-neul, of course, was all for it. Kicking off her shoes on-camera was fun and helped relax her for the rest of the scene. "Same song?" Tae-kyung asked when she again took her place beside the piano.

"Yes, please," she answered with a smile.

"You were saying something about George Harrison?" he reminded her as he began to play.

"Oh, just that he was the quiet one in the band, but his guitar playing said so much about him. At least," she added bashfully, "that's what I think. I mean, what do I really know about music, right?"

"It makes sense to me," Tae-kyung assured her with another friendly smile, his fingers not faltering over the keys.

"All right, Ha-neul, just watch Tae-kyung sing and play the piano for a while," Director Han instructed them. "Don't forget to look like you're having fun!"

That wasn't difficult. Even though she wasn't an expert, it was obvious to Ha-neul that the AN JELL vocalist was a talented and passionate musician. Part of his happy demeanor was due to what was required for the video, but she could tell that it was also because he loved what he did, and it was fun to watch him enjoy something that much.

Standing with the rest of his bandmates, Shin-woo watched Ha-neul lean on the piano and smile as she watched Tae-kyung play. The look on her face didn't sit well with him for some reason. Was it just him, or did it look very much like the one Mi-nyeo had worn whenever _she_ looked at Tae-kyung?

* * *

Director Han was happy with the footage they had shot, so they finished the scene before lunch. After a break, they started setting up for the next segment, the baking scene with Jeremy that would be filmed in the mansion's spacious kitchen. "I asked if we could include Angelina Jolie in this scene, and Director Han said yes," Jeremy told Ha-neul happily as Stylist Wang and her assistants put the finishing touches on their outfits. Although Ha-neul had liked the outfit she had worn for the piano scene, she was much more comfortable in the colorful, casual clothes that she was now wearing.

"Angelina Jolie?" she repeated, surprised. "If you were going to have her in this video, why did you need to cast me?"

"Because Jolie can only be in my scene," he answered seriously. "She loves only me."

Ha-neul laughed when "Angelina Jolie" turned out to be a dog. However, like her namesake, the golden retriever was born to be a star. Jolie insisted on supervising her and Jeremy as they measured out and mixed ingredients, and joining in the fun when Jeremy, deciding that he would rather play than work, started a playful food fight. Since she had to stay seated so as not to appear taller than Jeremy, Ha-neul couldn't retaliate much. She found it difficult to concentrate on following the recipe when her partners in baking were being so distracting, but thought this segment was a lot of fun, too.

"Fantastic!" Director Han cried as the three of them took bites of the cupcakes they had baked, which had turned out quite well despite all the silliness, and Jeremy dabbed frosting on Ha-neul's nose. "That's a wrap! Thank you, everyone; we'll see you on Saturday."

Ha-neul's phone began to vibrate as she wiped off the makeup, flour and cake batter on her face. She pulled it out of her pocket to see that she had received a text message from Su-jin. "Su-jin said she'll be here in a few minutes," she announced.

Jeremy's friendly grin disappeared as he remembered that their basketball game was set to take place that day. "Now that we're finished having fun," he said, "it's time to get serious. Prepare to be humiliated!"

Ha-neul laughed. Besides knowing the importance of keeping her cool before a game, she also knew that annoying Jeremy would work in her team's favor. She swiped a last bit of frosting from the mixing bowl and smeared it on his cheek. "Unless you _did_ manage to get Ham Ji-hoon to play on your team, you should probably follow your own advice," she told him, and flounced off to change her clothes.

* * *

The two-on-two basketball challenge was held in the gym in the back of the house, which boasted a half-court as well as state-of-the-art exercise equipment. Tae-kyung, Mi-nam and Jolie sat on the sidelines with AN JELL's handler, Ma Hoon-yi, who had insisted on attending. "Are you sure this is safe?" the plump older man asked for the millionth time. Since they were his responsibility, the idea of any of them getting hurt (and subsequently having to answer to President Ahn) made him very nervous.

"Manager Ma, they're girls!" Jeremy scoffed. "How hard could this be?"

"Let's not get too confident," Shin-woo cautioned him. "They may be girls, but they're also Olympic athletes, so we should still try our best."

Just then, the door to the gym opened. _"Ta-daaa!"_ Stylist Wang sang out as she entered, holding out her arms in a dramatic flourish and sashaying across the hardwood floor, heralding the arrival of the opposing team.

Behind him, Shin-woo heard Mi-nam let out a low whistle. "I'm glad I'm not playing," the keyboardist murmured.

The girl who earlier that day had worn pretty clothes and flirted for the camera was gone, and so was her bubbly best friend. Walking towards them were two battle-ready women athletes wearing matching businesslike expressions and navy blue basketball jerseys. The jerseys had the word "KOREA" emblazoned in big white letters across the front. Shin-woo had to admit that it looked pretty intimidating, but he steeled his resolve. _This,_ he thought, _is not the time to be afraid... or charitable towards Ha-neul just because she's a girl._

"What are _you_ doing here?" Manager Ma asked the stylist as she joined him and the band on the sidelines.

She smacked the back of his head. "You're looking after the boys, I'm looking after the girls." She gave Jeremy and Shin-woo a warning glare. "If Ha-neul gets even the slightest scratch, that's extra work for me!"

The girls dropped their sports bags on a spot near the baseline. Su-jin dropped her game face long enough to give the other AN JELL members a friendly smile, then turned back to Jeremy. "Are we doing this or what?" she demanded as Ha-neul bent down to adjust the brace around her left knee.

"Of course we are!" he retorted, then turned to Shin-woo. "Let's do this."

To Jeremy's delight, the boys drew first blood when Shin-woo scored a basket in the first few minutes of play. Shin-woo didn't gloat over it as much as his teammate did, but he did allow himself a small smile when he faced Ha-neul again. He couldn't quite explain it, but he derived some satisfaction from making that shot. _Probably because she's an Olympic athlete,_ he told himself. The only fly in the ointment was that Ha-neul didn't seem to be affected at all; in fact, neither did Su-jin, even though Jeremy did a fair bit of crowing in her face.

Later, Shin-woo realized that the girls had lulled them into a false sense of security; after the first timeout, they suddenly clamped down on defense. It was as though they had been scouting the boys early in the game, and because he and Jeremy had pulled out all the stops to try and intimidate their opponents, the girls now knew precisely how to shut them down.

Su-jin got her revenge on Jeremy when she stripped him of the ball and proceeded to sink a perfect three-point shot over the blond boy's head. "You should score first," she advised him helpfully, "and _then_ you smile."

With a growl, he retrieved the basketball and managed to pass it to Shin-woo, who attempted a shot... only to have Ha-neul swat it soundly away. The next time Shin-woo faced her, she gave him the same small smile he had given her earlier.

That smile appeared again and again with every basket and defensive stop that she made. Jeremy would kill him if he knew, but Shin-woo found himself thinking about it as he stared at the nape of Ha-neul's neck, trying to defend against her on her way to the basket. As a result, he was a moment too late when she suddenly spun around and launched a hook shot.

The ball dropped neatly into the net and Ha-neul allowed herself a small whoop of triumph. Su-jin, grinning, offered her a high-five. "You should definitely e-mail Cicero about that!"

Ha-neul grinned back. "Maybe I will."

"Now, I'm _really_ glad I'm not playing," Mi-nam remarked as the boys called for a time-out.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy," Shin-woo apologized when they were in huddle. "I'm not playing very well today."

Being the nice guy that he was, Jeremy forgave him. "No, you're doing great, Shin-woo hyung," he assured him. "It's just harder for you because Ha-neul is so tall." Jeremy had the obvious height advantage over Su-jin, but all the girl had to do to get around that was pass to Ha-neul, who took care of the rest.

"But we can't let them win," the blond boy went on. "They're leading by ten points, but there's still time to catch up."

Shin-woo glanced at the girls, who were strategizing with intent looks on their faces. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Don't let Ha-neul score another basket," his teammate answered. "Hold her down if you have to."

He frowned. "Isn't that against the rules?"

"So?" Jeremy scoffed. "They're girls. Do you think they're going to fight back?"

"Are you guys ready to give up?" Su-jin asked as the girls re-entered the court. She didn't look at all like she was gloating, but it was obvious that she was enjoying this.

"No way!" Jeremy told her.

"OK, then." Since Ha-neul scored before the time-out, it was the boys' turn to take possession of the ball. Su-jin sent him a hard chest pass. "We'll keep going until you admit defeat."

"We'll see who admits defeat!"

Jeremy passed the ball to Shin-woo so that they could inbound under the basket. Shin-woo kicked it back out to Jeremy, and the girls moved in to defend and keep them from passing. Ha-neul, of course, tried to jostle Shin-woo out of position, but as the boys had planned, Shin-woo tried to limit her movements as well.

It had just registered to him that he actually had his arms around Ha-neul when pain unexpectedly exploded in his stomach. _"Aaaah!"_ he cried and fell to the ground, gasping for air.

_"Hyung!"_ Jeremy screeched, flinging the ball away and rushing to his side. "Are you OK? Speak to me!"

"Don't be such a baby," Ha-neul said as she walked up to the pair. "I barely hit you!"

"But you _did_ hit me!" Shin-woo wheezed.

"Well, you were holding _me_," she retorted, but held out a hand. "Come on, get up and let's finish this game."

"No, no, no!" Manager Ma edged into Shin-woo's view. "I'm sorry, but this has to stop right now. I can't afford to let any of the boys get seriously hurt!"

"They wouldn't get seriously hurt if they kept their hands to themselves!" Stylist Wang told him, throwing one of her bracelets at his head.

Su-jin, however, decided not to argue. "We were winning, anyway," she said with a queenly wave of her hand. "So I guess we can consider this a victory for the women. Come on, Ha-neul."

Ha-neul waited for a moment to see if Shin-woo would take the hand she offered, but when he didn't, she sighed and followed her friend to where they had left their things.

"That could have been one of us, brother-in-law," Mi-nam said to Tae-kyung as Manager Ma and Jeremy helped Shin-woo out of the gym.

"Thank God it wasn't."

* * *

The moment she got home, Ha-neul went straight to her room and closed the door before collapsing on her bed in a mortified heap. "Oh, my God," she whimpered into her pillow.

_That was a great way to leave an impression, So Ha-neul _— _with your elbow!_

_It was pure instinct! I do that to any opponent who tries to shut me down, especially illegally. I wasn't going to let him do that just because_—

Ha-neul squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths to clear her head. There was no undoing the past, she told herself. What was done was done, and the important thing now was to figure out how to act around him on the next day of shooting, during which they would film Shin-woo's segment in the video.

_Oh, why didn't we shoot that segment before all of this happened?_

_Focus, Ha-neul._

She couldn't act as though nothing had happened; he had been hurt and it would be callous to ignore that. On the other hand, Ha-neul refused to act as though she was entirely at fault; she _had_ hit him, but she had been provoked into doing it. The best thing to do, she decided, was to wait first and gauge Shin-woo's mood. If he was open to discussing the matter, they would talk it over like adults, but she could just joke about it, too, if that was what he wanted. Above it all, she had to remind him that it was just a game and they were supposed to be friends.

_Yes, that sounds like a good plan._

She sighed and thought about how Shin-woo hadn't taken her hand when she had offered to help him up. _I hope he doesn't hate me._


	5. Heart Messenger

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're _Beautiful, and the Korean Women's Basketball League (KWBL) to itself. The paintings mentioned in this chapter are real, too, but I forgot to note the artist's name. Sorry about that. I only own Ha-neul, her dad, Su-jin and Nang Eun-hee.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks, as always, to LoveCore for reviewing :)

_Chapter Five - Heart Messenger (Rocket Diary)_

It seemed to Ha-neul that the artist was hungry, because if their titles were any indication, a lot of the paintings in this exhibition were inspired by food.

She was standing in one of the galleries of Seoul's National Museum of Contemporary Art, staring at a painting that was supposed to be of chili peppers, but looked like a crowd of dancers tangled across the canvas. Director Han had instructed her to look fascinated by the painting, and just wait for Shin-woo's entrance into the scene.

Even though she had the chance to prepare herself, she was still startled when a pair of hands covered her eyes. "Watch those elbows," she heard Shin-woo murmur behind her.

Turning, Ha-neul gave him a shy smile. "Hi."

He smiled back. She hoped that he wasn't just pretending to be happy for the camera, but that he was at least partly glad to see her. "Hi."

"Now, look at the painting together," Director Han told them. "Shin-woo, if you can move in beside her...?"

Keeping his hands on her shoulders, Shin-woo did as he was instructed. "What are we looking at?"

"Black and purple peppers," Ha-neul answered, pointing to the small sign next to the painting. "Except that I think it looks more like a nightclub dance floor."

He tilted his head appraisingly. "Hmm. I think you're right."

The director then told them to walk along the gallery, looking at the other paintings and pretending to have an "intimate conversation," while the camera filmed them from a distance. When the cameras were safely out of earshot, Ha-neul ventured to ask, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Shin-woo replied, "even though I have a big bruise right here." He placed a hand on his chest. (_"Nice!"_ said Director Han, thinking that he was indicating his heart.)

"I'm sorry I hit you," she said, glancing away and at a painting that looked like eggs spattered with green paint. "It was instinct."

"Instinct?" he repeated.

"Well, it's one way to get away from a defender — especially one who's doing illegal things himself," she added a bit pointedly.

Shin-woo had the grace to look slightly embarrassed, but said, "So you've done that to other people before? _Tsk tsk._ That's not being a good sport, Ms. Olympic Athlete."

"I've had worse done to me," Ha-neul told him. "That's the way it is in competition. You do what you have to do in order to show the other team who's boss."

"I guess so." He smiled at her as they walked past a large canvas featuring an explosion of red. "You looked great out there, though. It was obvious that you really like to play basketball."

"Thanks. I do love to play." She blushed, looking away again, then turned back to him with an impish grin on her face. "Now I guess we're even."

"Even?"

"Yes. You told President Ahn that I wanted to audition for this video even before I even had time to think about it, and I elbowed you in the ribs _and_ beat you at basketball. We're even!"

Shin-woo laughed. "Who said you beat me at basketball?"

She arched an eyebrow. "Well, we _were_ leading when you and Jeremy resorted to cheating."

He was saved from having to answer that by the realization that Director Han was calling their names. You two can stop talking now," he said. "We have enough footage of the gallery. Shall we move to the gift shop?"

* * *

"Is the coast clear?"

Tae-kyung scowled over his water glass at the blond head peeking cautiously in the kitchen doorway. "What are you talking about, Jeremy?"

"Is Shin-woo hyung in there?"

"He's upstairs," Mi-nam answered. "Can't you hear him?" Through the ceiling overhead, they could hear someone strumming random chords on an electric guitar. Since he and Tae-kyung were in the kitchen and Jeremy was right outside it, by process of elimination it had to be Shin-woo upstairs. (Unless Jolie had some hidden talents.)

Satisfied by his bandmates' answers, Jeremy bounced into the kitchen, the stubby ponytail at the top of his head waving like an antenna. "Did you see what happened at the museum today?" he demanded. "Director Han had to call Shin-woo hyung _three times_ before he heard!"

"So?"

"_So_... that's never happened before! Whenever the director has an instruction for us, he's usually the first to hear. I think he was _really_ distracted by talking to Ha-neul. He could barely take his eyes off her."

"They were probably arguing about the basketball game. I think Shin-woo would feel strongly about it after what happened to him."

"But arguing about basketball doesn't make your face look like _this_..." The blond boy put on a comically dreamy expression, complete with saccharine smile and batting eyelashes.

"I don't think he looked like that," Tae-kyung said.

"She was looking at him like that, too!"

"Well, that was what the director wanted, right?"

"Director Han wanted them to have an intense conversation," Mi-nam recalled, "or something like that. I guess that was easy for them because they're old friends. It also helps that Shin-woo's the nicest of us all," he added with an amused smirk.

"Maybe they used to date back in school!" Jeremy exclaimed.

Tae-kyung looked pained. _"Not so loud!"_ he hissed. "Do you want Shin-woo to know you're talking about him?"

"Sorry, hyung."

"Anyway, they were in elementary school together," Tae-kyung told him. "That's too young to be dating. This is Korea, Jeremy, not England."

"Ah, but you're never too young when it comes to the love of your life."

Chuckling, Mi-nam went to get himself a soft drink. "Sorry, Jeremy," he said as he turned back from the refrigerator, "but I think you're imagining things. The way I see it, Shin-woo and Ha-neul are just old friends, nothing more than that."

"Maybe," he replied, "and maybe not. To make sure, we must conduct some experiments."

"Experiments?" Mi-nam shot Tae-kyung a puzzled frown. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

The vocalist shook his head and took another drink of water. "I'm not sure I want to know."

* * *

Despite Tae-kyung's concerns, Shin-woo remained unaware that his bandmates were talking about him. Upstairs in his room, he was deeply absorbed in trying to frame the ideas whirling around in his head into chords and lyrics; unfortunately, all his attempts thus far had been futile.

At least using an electric guitar instead of his usual acoustic one felt like a step in the right direction. Shin-woo knew that he wanted to compose something different from his usual contributions to AN JELL's albums. The handful of songs he had written for the band so far had been well-received, even though they still took a backseat to Tae-kyung's work. Although all the members of the band were talented in their own right, it was Tae-kyung who was recognized as the musical genius.

Shin-woo didn't have a burning ambition to be seen as a musical genius, but he did want to try new things. He felt that he had changed, especially over the past year or so, and wanted, as Ha-neul had once pointed out, to use his music to express that. However, he didn't even have an idea of where to begin trying to give voice to everything that was inside him.

_I don't want to turn into him, but... how does Tae-kyung do it?_

* * *

On the day that AN Entertainment announced the impending release of the new AN JELL music video, fans all over the world logged on to the band's website to view the teaser trailer for the video.

The officers of AN JELL's fan club were, of course, the first on the scene. They gathered together in one of their favorite Internet cafés and watched avidly as the rumors and speculations played out in living, breathing color. "There's the baking scene!" Hyun-jae exclaimed as a snippet of it flashed onscreen. She giggled with delight. "Jeremy oppa is so cute! And look, his dog is there, too!"

Sayuri frowned thoughtfully. Although they always enjoyed the band's videos, there were other important things that demanded attention, particularly any females that appeared in the videos with them. "That girl was in Mi-nam oppa's scene, too," she observed.

Ae-sook gasped. "I think she was in the video with all of them! Should we hate her?"

The fan club president considered it for a moment before declaring, "No. If she's paired up with all of our oppas, then she's not the girlfriend of any one of them. Besides," Sayuri added, "I got to speak to her, remember? I have to say that even though she's a model, she didn't seem snobbish, not like Yoo Heyi." She scowled, remembering how nasty the girl called "Korea's fairy" had been to them.

"But that was before she made this video," Hyun-jae pointed out. "The press releases are mentioning her, too, and talking about how So Ha-neul is an up-and-coming model. I bet she's going to become really famous after this."

"Well, if she does, we'll probably see her again. Maybe she'll make more videos with AN JELL. We know what she looks like now, so we can see if she'll still be nice to us."

If she hadn't been so busy watching and re-watching the video teaser, Sayuri might have noticed a very familiar, very tall girl walk past the cafe entrance. "I still feel like my head's been shaved," Ha-neul said to Su-jin, who had taken her to Su-jin's favorite hair salon to get a haircut.

"Arnaud didn't cut off that much," Su-jin answered, patting her own new hairstyle. (Of course she had to treat herself to a new haircut, too!) "He just gave you bangs and some more layers, that's all. You look very chic, sort of like Cleopatra!"

"Cleopatra's not chic, she's ancient."

"OK, dramatic, then," she amended. "It gives you a more unique look, which will help all those top media people remember you at the launch party for the music video." Su-jin paused and gave her friend a winning smile. "I'm still invited, right?"

* * *

Su-jin was definitely still invited; in fact, she even went with Ha-neul and her father to the press conference where the video would be officially launched. "If it's possible," Ha-neul told her friend as they entered the theater where the video for "Can't Wait" was to be unveiled to the media, "I'm not going to another one of those things without you!"

"Don't worry," Su-jin promised. "I'll protect you from that bitch, Heyi, if she decides to show up again. Now, can you let go of my arm? You're going to leave bruises."

Mr. So, who had been walking ahead of the girls, now turned to speak to them. "Ha-neul, your Uncle Sung-chan said he's sending someone to get you. You'll be sitting with the band, answering questions at the press conference. Su-jin and I will meet up with you again afterwards."

Ha-neul froze. "I'm going to be interviewed?"

"Why shouldn't you be?" Su-jin asked. "You starred in that video, too!"

"AN Entertainment is doing us a very big favor by mentioning your name in the press releases," Mr. So said. "They're promoting you almost as much as the band. Be sure to thank them for giving you this opportunity."

"I hope I don't make a fool of myself in front of everyone," Ha-neul mumbled. Now that she knew that she was expected to speak, the crowd of reporters in front of the stage seemed to be awfully large, and growing by the minute.

"You've faced the press before," her father reminded her.

"And at least this time they'll be asking you about something nice," Su-jin added. The last time Ha-neul had spoken to reporters was after the Beijing Olympics, when she had been dealing with her injury and the team's elimination in the quarterfinal round.

Mr. So saw Stylist Wang striding purposefully towards them and, correctly guessing that she was the staff member sent by the AN JELL manager, patted his daughter's hand. "You'll do great. We'll see you later."

"Ha-neul!" the stylist exclaimed as she came near. "I almost didn't recognize you! I love that jacket. And that haircut!"

She smiled shyly and drew herself up a little straighter. "Thank you, unni."

"Is your father here?"

"Yes, he went to find seats with Su-jin. He said Uncle Sung-chan might be busy with organizing the press conference, so they'll see each other later."

Stylist Wang scrunched up her face thoughtfully and then nodded. "Good idea. Now, I'm supposed to bring you somewhere to wait with the boys. You'll all come out at the end of the screening."

The older woman led Ha-neul to a small inner room where the members of AN JELL, dressed in matching red-and-gray outfits, waited with their manager. "Ah, Ha-neul, you're here!" President Ahn greeted her. "_Excellent, excellent!_ Are you ready for the press conference?"

"I think so," she answered truthfully.

"Well, you don't have to be afraid," he advised. "AN JELL will be out there with you, and you'll take care of her, won't you, boys?"

"Of course," Shin-woo assured the band's manager. He smiled at Ha-neul, blissfully unaware that Jeremy was violently nudging the other boys right behind him.

They stayed in that room until Manager Ma came to get them. Ha-neul and the band took their places on the darkened stage in time to hear the audience laughing over the video's final scene, which had all four band members showing up at the airport to discover that they were there to meet the same girl. She was relieved to hear the positive reaction; she had thought it was a clever surprise ending to the story that the video was trying to tell, but was afraid it would make her look like a two-... make that _four-_timer.

The house lights came on as the audience applauded, revealing the people seated at the long table onstage. Almost immediately, reporters began shouting out questions. Ha-neul tried to find her father and Su-jin in the crowd, but it was hard to pick them out with all the flashbulbs popping in her face.

President Ahn kicked off the press conference by thanking everyone in attendance for coming, and officially launching AN JELL's latest single. "We hope you enjoyed the video," he concluded, "and that you will continue to support AN JELL. Now, we will take some questions from the press."

Ha-neul listened to the band, particularly Tae-kyung, who wrote the song, field numerous questions about what the group was doing now, especially about the upcoming album. No, AN JELL didn't have a concept for the new album yet; the band was still writing songs for it. "Can't Wait" was the first one to be finished, and no, Tae-kyung was not suffering from writer's block.

Suddenly, attention shifted to Ha-neul. "Ms. So," said a young man in a smart black suit, "you're a former member of the national women's basketball team, correct?"

The press release had mentioned that fact, so Ha-neul nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Why aren't you playing in the KWBL?"

A large figure looming in the back, over the heads of the clustering reporters, caught her eye. Ha-neul's father gave her an encouraging nod. "Unfortunately, I suffered a serious knee injury while competing in the Beijing Olympics," she told the reporter, her voice calm. "My knee healed, but I was unable to play as well as I used to, so I had to find a different path. And I'm very thankful to AN JELL and their management for giving me this opportunity," she remembered to add. Mr. So gave her an approving smile.

"You never played basketball again?" asked another reporter.

"Oh, no, I still play with my friends." Ha-neul grinned as she thought about the last game she had played. "It's good exercise, and I love the game."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" asked a woman with a rather shrill voice.

She hoped it was all right to look surprised at that question, because she hadn't been expecting the press to be so interested in her. "No."

"Now that you've had a chance to work with all the members of AN JELL," the same reporter asked, "can you tell us which one is your favorite?"

"Um..." Ha-neul knew that this was a tricky question, and even if she didn't, she wasn't about to say just anything in response.

Suddenly, there was a movement at the corner of her eye and everyone laughed as Jeremy raised his hand and waved it wildly, as if begging her to choose him. Mi-nam tried to force Jeremy's hand down and raise his own, and soon the other boys were vying for her favor, even Tae-kyung, who pointed to himself and arched his eyebrows meaningfully.

Ha-neul knew that they were keeping their promise to their manager and trying to ease the pressure on her, and laughed appreciatively. She knew just what to say. "I enjoyed every minute of the shooting, so it's hard to choose a favorite," she told the reporter with a smile. "All of the members of AN JELL were great to work with, and I think I've become pretty good friends with all of them."

* * *

"That was a really professional answer," Jeremy congratulated her at the private party following the press conference. "But, tell the truth — I'm your favorite, right?"

"Get real," Mi-nam told him. "If you were her favorite, she would have said so the moment she saw you raising your hand. _I'm_ her favorite, except you and brother-in-law here kept her from saying so." He nudged Tae-kyung. "Why should you care if you're Ha-neul's favorite? You're already my sister's favorite."

To Ha-neul's surprise, Tae-kyung looked flustered at the mention of Mi-nam's sister. "Go Mi-nam, shut up."

As always, Shin-woo stepped in to defuse the situation. "All the talking at the press conference made me thirsty," he said. "Why don't we all get something to drink and relax?"

"That's a good idea, hyung!" Jeremy agreed enthusiastically. "But... you guys go on ahead. I see someone I want to say hello to first."

That "someone" turned out to be Su-jin, who was standing off to one side, watching a performance onstage. "I come in peace," Jeremy told her when she eyed his approach suspiciously. "There's something really important that I have to talk to you about."

"What is it?" she asked, still frowning.

She stiffened as he leaned in close, but he didn't notice, focused as he was on murmuring, "It's about Ha-neul and Shin-woo hyung. I think they like each other."

Su-jin gasped, and a delighted smile spread over her face. "Really?" she asked, craning her neck to find them in the crowd.

"I don't know it for sure," Jeremy cautioned her. "Tae-kyung hyung and Mi-nam both think I'm imagining things. I thought I would run an experiment to see if I'm right."

"What kind of experiment?"

He shrugged. "I was thinking of getting them alone together somehow and seeing what happens, but I don't know how to make that happen."

Su-jin thought for a moment. "Maybe you and Shin-woo can cook dinner for us, as our prize for winning the basketball game," she suggested. "We can disappear from time to time and give them lots of chances to be alone."

He frowned. "What are you talking about? You didn't win that game."

"We were in the lead when you guys started cheating," she reminded him. "Do you want help doing this or not?"

Jeremy knew that Ha-neul's pesky little friend had him over a barrel and snarled. He had to admit that her idea was a good one (certainly better than his idea to just lock them in a closet and let nature take its course), but he wasn't about to tell her that. "Fine."

With her self-proclaimed bodyguard otherwise occupied, Ha-neul was alone when Yoo Heyi stalked up to her. "Congratulations on a great video," the pop star said.

"Thank you," she answered, although she remained on guard. She now knew better than to believe that Heyi was being friendly.

"I've been reading the press releases about it," the other girl went on. "I didn't know you played in the Olympics."

"Well, I did."

Heyi tilted her head quizzically. "The press releases mentioned you a lot."

_Here we go._ "I had a rather big role in the video, if I do say so myself," Ha-neul told her evenly. "And _Uncle Sung-chan_," she added, emphasizing her name for the AN Entertainment president, "was kind enough to help me with my career by getting my name out to the media."

"Really?" Heyi arched an eyebrow. "That was very nice of him. Are you sure that's all he did?"

Ha-neul was about to ask the other girl what she meant when their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of a willowy older woman. Her stylish appearance and take-no-prisoners demeanor marked her as someone of importance — or, at least, someone you didn't want to cross. The woman charged right up to Ha-neul without sparing Heyi a second glance. "So Ha-neul?" she asked briskly.

"Yes?" Ha-neul answered, giving the woman a polite smile.

"I'm Nang Eun-hee."

Her jaw dropped. Ha-neul wasn't a fashionista like Su-jin, but she had heard the name often enough to know that this woman was a big name in the fashion world, with celebrity clients and shops in expensive districts all over the world. Fortunately, Ha-neul recovered before things got too awkward. "I'm pleased to meet you, Ms. Nang," she answered, sketching a bow.

"I was just speaking to your father," Nang Eun-hee told her. "I want you to model for me when I debut my next collection. He told me to come speak to you and see if you were interested."

Ha-neul's jaw dropped again. The AN JELL video was barely out, but here she was, already receiving modeling offers!

The older woman looked at her impatiently. "Well? Will you do it or not?"

"I-I'm very interested," Ha-neul admitted, "but I've never done runway modeling before." In fact, she had just learned how to walk in high heels without falling, but she wasn't going to say so out loud in front of Heyi.

"No problem." Ms. Nang waved a hand. "I'm still finishing my collection, and of course the fashion show won't take place until I'm good and ready. You have some time to learn."

Heyi, of course, refused to be ignored. "Ms. Nang?" she ventured with a sweet smile. "I'm Yoo Heyi. I think my manager also contacted you about being in your fashion show?"

Finally, the designer acknowledged her presence. "Yes, I think I remember coming across your name earlier this week. You're a singer, right?"

Heyi nodded, her smile widening. "And I've done a lot of runway modeling before," she said. "I would have done Andre Kim's fashion show last season if I didn't have so many commitments."

"Whom Andre Kim gets for his shows is none of my business," Ms. Nang replied. "I just care about what _I_ need.

"And I don't need a fairy," she declared, referring of course to Heyi's nickname. "I need a goddess."


	6. Somewhere in Between

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're _Beautiful. As stated, "Break On Through (to the Other Side)" belongs to the Doors, and "Simply Irresistible" ― a part of which is quoted in the text — to the late Robert Palmer.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks, as always, to LoveCore and Dawn Ivory for reviewing :)

_

* * *

Chapter Six __—__ Somewhere In Between (Lifehouse)_

On the ride home from the party, Jeremy found the tables turned on him when Tae-kyung mentioned seeing him and Su-jin deep in conversation earlier that night. "I thought you hated that girl," the vocalist remarked.

"You never know where you're going to find love," Mi-nam sighed, clasping his hands over his heart.

"I don't like her!" the blond boy insisted, folding his arms and pouting. "And I wasn't talking to her; _she_ was talking to _me_!"

"You don't need to pretend," Shin-woo told him with a smile. "It's OK if you like each other. Su-jin seems like a nice person."

"When you don't piss her off," Mi-nam clarified.

Jeremy scowled. "Hyung," he told Shin-woo, "she was telling me that since we lost the basketball game, we have to cook dinner for her and Ha-neul."

The guitarist frowned, perplexed. "But we didn't lose that game," he protested. "No one was declared the winner; it was a tie."

"That's exactly what I told Su-jin! But then she said that since they were leading when we—when Manager Ma stopped the game, that means they won."

"Ha-neul said that, too." Shin-woo shook his head. "Girls!"

"Anyway," Jeremy went on, "I finally gave in and said we'd do it, just to shut her up. Right after that, I went to find you guys, so it obviously wasn't what you thought at all, Tae-kyung hyung!"

"I don't know," Tae-kyung replied mildly. "It looked like you could barely take your eyes off her."

_"Hyuuuung,"_ the blond boy whined, "stop teasing me! ...You're going to spoil everything!" he added in a low voice.

"What did you say?" Shin-woo asked.

"Nothing!"

* * *

Eventually, they agreed to hold the dinner at Ha-neul's house, mostly to get away from Mi-nam's threats to chaperone. Mr. So had a meeting that evening, so he wasn't going to be around, but Ha-neul was allowed to have visitors as long as they didn't leave a mess.

Shin-woo and Jeremy turned up at the Sos' doorstep at four o'clock that Sunday afternoon, laden with groceries. Su-jin, who had arrived earlier, was present to greet the boys and help them inside. "I thought I told you to make sure she was wearing a dress!" Jeremy hissed at her while Ha-neul showed Shin-woo to the kitchen.

"I tried," she said, "but I couldn't very well dictate what she should wear in her own home, could I?"

"I can't rely on you for anything," he complained.

"Just be glad she's wearing a nice blouse instead of a ratty old T-shirt!"

"Hey, you two," Shin-woo called out from the kitchen, "I know you want to be alone, but could you help us here first?"

"What in the world is he talking about?" Su-jin asked Jeremy.

The blond boy looked sheepish. "Tae-kyung hyung saw us talking at the party," he told her. "Now the other guys think we like each other."

_"WHAT?"_ Su-jin shrieked.

Fortunately, Jeremy had anticipated this and covered her mouth with his hand in time to muffle the unearthly noise. "I told them it wasn't true, I swear I did," he said earnestly, "but they wouldn't listen! And then I thought that it might even work in our favor," he added. "If Ha-neul and Shin-woo hyung leave us alone later, then that would mean that they're going to be alone, too, right?"

She scowled at him and pushed his hand away. "Right," she agreed grudgingly. "Fine, I'll play along, but the moment it's obvious that this isn't working, I'm dumping you!"

Ha-neul, too, was curious about Shin-woo's remark. "What did you mean, Jeremy and Su-jin want to be alone?" she asked him as they laid out dinner fixings on the kitchen counter.

Shin-woo pulled lettuce out of one plastic bag and gave her a sly grin. "I don't know if you saw it, but Tae-kyung saw them talking at the party. We think they like each other."

Ha-neul looked surprised. "I thought they hated each other."

"So did I."

He heard her giggle and glanced at her, but was distracted when Jeremy finally appeared with Su-jin and the rest of the groceries. The look on Jeremy's face warned everyone not to give him a hard time, and Shin-woo wisely decided to talk about something else. "That's a cool song," he remarked, nodding towards the small MP3 player dock set up next to the toaster oven. "The Doors, right?"

Ha-neul smiled when she recognized "Break On Through." "It's one of my favorites."

He listened for a while before nodding approvingly. "It sounds pretty good. I've never really had the chance to give the Doors a listen, but I think I'd like to sometime. Do you have any of their CDs?"

"Just one," she admitted self-deprecatingly. "I like them, but I don't have every song they ever made. I can lend you the CD if you like."

Shin-woo smiled. "I'd like that a lot."

"Hyung, if you're finished," Jeremy broke in sternly, "we have dinner to put on the table."

"Yes, sir," he chuckled, moving to help the other boy put everything in order.

Su-jin leaned her elbows on the counter, watching the boys work. "I hope you're not going to sabotage the food, because you're going to eat it with us."

"Of course we're going to eat it, too," Jeremy groused. "It's not fair for us to do all this work and not be allowed to eat."

"I was thinking it would be nice if we ate out on the deck," Ha-neul remarked suddenly. "We have a table and chairs out there, and we can set up the grill, too, if you need it."

"That sounds like a good idea," Shin-woo agreed, grateful for the intervention. Obviously, this budding romance was still in its very early stages. "Could you girls please set the table?"

* * *

"So... you and Jeremy," Ha-neul began as the girls laid out a tablecloth on the outdoors dining table. It was a sunny afternoon, but not too hot. "When did it start?"

"Very, _very_ suddenly" was the mysterious reply.

"Well, I think it's a good thing," she said loyally. They tugged the fabric into place and smoothed out the creases with their hands. "You two make a cute couple. Sometimes he says the wrong things," she averred, "but I'm sure you'll take care of that."

Su-jin smiled briefly and began setting out the plates. "Right."

Just then, the girls heard the sliding door open and looked up to see Shin-woo walking out onto the balcony. "I thought I would set up the grill for you," he said. "So your hands won't get dirty."

"You're already doing the cooking—" Ha-neul began, then realized that this was the perfect opportunity to give Jeremy and Su-jin some time alone. "But on second thought, that's a very good idea! I hate getting charcoal on my hands," she babbled. "It's so hard to remove. Su-jin, why don't you go in and help Jeremy with the food? I can finish setting the table."

Shin-woo smiled at Su-jin. "We've already taken care of the meat, but it would be nice if you can help him prepare the rice and vegetables."

For a while, it looked as though Su-jin was going to argue, but finally she nodded and, muttering darkly, started for the entrance into the house.

"Did Su-jin just say something about having a knife in her hand?" Shin-woo asked when Su-jin was gone. He found the grill in one corner of the deck and went to bring it closer to the table. "She's not mad, is she?"

"Su-jin is good at teasing other people," Ha-neul told him, turning her attention back to setting the table, "but she doesn't like it when she's the one who gets teased."

"Just like Jeremy, then."

"And I guess she's still feeling shy about this thing with him."

Shin-woo smiled when he heard Ha-neul giggle again. Though she didn't look or act that much like a tomboy, it was still fascinating to hear her make such a feminine sound. "You think it's funny?"

"No," she answered. She was still grinning as she went around the table, putting out the glasses. "It's cute. They were arguing with each other so much. I wonder when they realized that it wasn't irritation with each other, but—" Ha-neul broke off and backed into something.

"But... what?"

She straightened and realized that she had bumped into Shin-woo, and froze when the motion brought her face quite close to his. Feeling as though her eyes were going to cross from looking at him so closely, she blurted out, "Sexual tension."

"What are they doing?" Jeremy asked, looking up from slicing the mushrooms and trying to peer through the windows.

"Why don't you tell me?" Su-jin replied irritably as she peeled some cloves of garlic. "You're taller, you can probably see more."

He glared at her bowed head, but did as he was told. "They have their arms wrapped around each other," he reported, "and they're kissing."

"Really?" Her head snapped up, then she punched Jeremy in the arm when he laughed and she saw that he was just joking. "Jerk! That wasn't funny!"

He grinned, feeling better after having a little bit of revenge — and seeing that his experiment seemed to be going well. "Ouch! OK, maybe that's not what they're doing," he acknowledged, "but they _are_ standing very close to each other and not making any move to get away."

Fortunately for Jeremy, this time he was telling the truth. "And they look really into whatever it is they're talking about," Su-jin added in satisfaction.

"They might be talking about us," he reminded her.

"It's worth it if they're talking. That's what you said, right?" she asked as Ha-neul's MP3 player started playing a Robert Palmer song.

_She's a natural law, and she leaves me in awe_

_She deserves the applause, I surrender because_

_She used to look good to me, but now I find her_

_Simply irresistible..._

* * *

Despite its inauspicious beginnings, dinner turned out to be a great success. The food was good, the conversation lighthearted and the girls properly appreciative of the boys' efforts, which pleased Jeremy a lot. "I'd like to propose a toast," he said, raising his beer bottle. "To games that end in a draw, because everyone wins."

Shin-woo grinned and raised his own beer, ready to drink to that, but of course the girls weren't having any of it. Ha-neul booed and Su-jin shoved a rice-stuffed lettuce leaf in Jeremy's mouth. "We're not going to get started on that again, are we, _oppa_?" she asked sweetly, adding a little bit of emphasis on the nickname.

"Of course not, _sweetheart_," the blond boy answered around the mouthful of food, mustering a smile and pinching Su-jin's cheek. She kicked him under the table, a sure sign that she hated it — she had done the same earlier, when he ruffled her hair fondly.

Shin-woo traded amused glances with Ha-neul and proposed a different toast. "Let's drink to old and new friends instead," he suggested, "and let's also wish Ha-neul good luck on her career as a supermodel."

She blushed and ducked her head modestly. "It's only one runway show."

"_And _an ad campaign," Su-jin reminded her, clinking her beer bottle with her friend's. "Nang Eun-hee is a top designer. Maybe, after you do her show, you'll get more offers to model for other fashion designers."

Ha-neul shrugged. "We'll see what happens. In the meantime, since I have the chance, I'll give it a try. She seems like a really cool lady."

Suddenly, Su-jin snapped her fingers. "I almost forgot to tell you, Ha-neul! I got a voicemail message from Kyung-soon unni yesterday. Have you heard from her?"

"No... did she say why she was calling?"

"She said she was trying to get in touch with the whole team, but that's it. She said she'll call back."

"Maybe she's planning a reunion." Ha-neul smiled. "That would be fun. It's been a while since the last one."

"A reunion?" Jeremy asked. "You mean there are more of you?"

"Of course!" Su-jin told him. "Ha-neul and I didn't make it all the way to the Olympics all by ourselves!"

"But don't even think about trying to find a replacement for Su-jin from the rest of our team," Ha-neul teased the blond boy. "Practically everyone else is married or has a partner already."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he declared, making a face. "I mean," he added hastily, grabbing Su-jin's hand, "I know I would never be able to replace my sweetheart! She's worth more than a dozen other girls."

"You better believe it," Su-jin said smugly.

"No offense, Ha-neul," Jeremy told their hostess.

She laughed. "None taken."

* * *

"So, it sounds like you're OK with Jeremy and Su-jin being a couple," Shin-woo remarked to Ha-neul after dinner. They were standing in the kitchen, preparing to wrap up leftovers, while the "couple" was outside, clearing the table.

"Once I got over being surprised, it made more and more sense," she chuckled as she brought out a number of plastic containers. She opened one and started scooping the leftover rice into it. "They're pretty cute together."

He grinned and started putting the vegetables into another container. "Even though Jeremy still spends too much time teasing Su-jin?"

"She teases him, too. I think annoying each other makes them happy."

Shin-woo nodded. "He only does that to people he cares about."

"I hope he makes that clear to Su-jin, though," Ha-neul warned, her brows drawing together sternly. "If he goes too far and ends up hurting her feelings, he's dead."

He chuckled. He got the feeling that she was just bluffing at present, but definitely would not hesitate to make good on the threat if necessary. "You're a good friend, Ha-neul," he told her.

"Thanks." She smiled at him as she finished putting away the rice. "My friends mean a lot to me, so I try to do right by them."

Shin-woo's gaze lingered on her a little while longer before he realized he was staring. He cleared his throat. "Uh, I was thinking that we should leave the leftovers for your dad when he gets home," he said. "As a way of saying 'thank you' for letting us come here."

Ha-neul nodded and smiled at him again. "He'll like that," she said, and started sorting the leftover meat. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He looked away quickly, just in time to see Jeremy drop his end of the tablecloth and grab Su-jin in a hug.

_"What are you doing?"_ Su-jin squealed, flailing and spitting out a mouthful of his shirt.

"Shin-woo hyung is looking this way!" he hissed. "Try to act natural! ...That is not natural!" he added when she flailed some more.

"It's hard to act natural when I can't breathe!"

"Oh. Sorry about that," Jeremy said, loosening his hold.

She scowled and rubbed her nose. "I think you flattened it. Are you wearing a bulletproof vest or something?"

"Of course not! That happens to be all muscle."

"Hmm." Su-jin prodded his chest. "You're in pretty good shape."

"You have to be to keep up with the kind of schedule that AN JELL has," he told her, preening at the compliment, then twisted suddenly when she poked at his ribs. "Hey! Don't do that!"

Naturally, that made her do it some more. "Why not?" she asked, an evil grin spreading across her face. "Are you ticklish?"

"N-no—" Jeremy said, but the hoot of laughter that escaped him after another jab belied his words. Quickly, he let her go before she could launch a full-scale attack. "I said don't do that!"

"What's the matter, Jeremy?" she asked, holding up her hands like claws. "We're just a boyfriend and girlfriend having a little fun."

"The problem is you're the one having all the fun!" he retorted, starting to back away. "Su-jin! I swear, if you come one step closer, I'll... I'll throw you over the balcony!"

She laughed and gave chase. "I'd like to see you try!"

* * *

Mr. So had some of the "thank-you leftovers" as a late-night snack when he got home. "Did you have fun?" he asked when father and daughter saw each other in the kitchen.

"It was very nice," Ha-neul replied. "How was your meeting?"

"Good." He nodded approvingly. "The kid I met seems to have a good head on his shoulders. His parents seem like good influences on him, too." In his years as a player and then a manager, Mr. So had seen a distressing amount of promising talent wasted by over-inflated egos and poor discipline. He built his reputation as a solid guiding hand partly by signing only players who had the work ethic to go with their skill. That meant that he sometimes had to bypass big-name players, but with his livelihood dependent on whether his clients were able to perform, Mr. So preferred reliability over drawing power.

"I'm glad."

"I received some calls about you tonight, too," her father told her. "Some more companies are interested in hiring you for their ad campaigns. They said they would send us their concepts so that we can decide whether or not to take the job.

"That crazy Nang woman called, too," he went on, frowning. "She was demanding to make sure that you were still going to model for her."

Ha-neul laughed. "She's an artist. I guess she just has that artistic temperament."

"Us non-artist types would call it annoying."

"Well, I think she's nice," Ha-neul said. "She seems like she could be unpleasant, but she seems to like me." She blushed. "She said I was a goddess." It was probably nothing, and therefore she was being silly by taking it to heart, but no one had ever called her that before.

Finishing his meal, Mr. So got up to take his dirty dishes to the sink. On his way there, he paused to put an arm around his daughter's shoulders. "That's one thing she and I agree on."


	7. Still

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're _Beautiful. "Hello, I Love You" belongs to The Doors, who belong to themselves and/or their heirs.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks, as always, to LoveCore for reviewing :)

_

* * *

Chapter Seven _— _Still (AN JELL)_

"When is she going to show up?" Tae-kyung griped impatiently. "This wig is making me itch."

"You should have just worn a hat, hyung," Jeremy told him, pointing to his knit cap, which hid his distinctive blond hair.

"Wool makes me itch, too."

The members of AN JELL were standing in the arrivals area of the Incheon International Airport, wearing disguises to escape public notice. They were there to greet Go Mi-nyeo, who was returning that day from Africa. Although she was Mi-nam's sister, all the boys were there to welcome her home, having grown close to her during the month or so that she posed as her twin brother to keep him from losing his place in the band.

"She said she's just gone through customs," Mi-nam reported, putting his cell phone in his pocket. "I wish she'd hurry up and get here already."

"Jeremy," Tae-kyung said, "please get those flowers away from me; my eyes are starting to water."

"Tae-kyung hyung, I think I'll get you a plastic bubble to live in for Christmas."

It may have been due to some kind of twin telepathy, but Mi-nam saw her first. A grin broke over his face and he waved wildly at a soberly-garbed figure coming towards them, trundling a wheeled suitcase behind her. Spotting them, the figure began to run.

"Doesn't this feel like the ending of our last video?" Jeremy remarked.

Shin-woo chuckled briefly. "Only this time we know who the girl's going to run to first."

"Of course we do," Mi-nam said with a cocky smirk.

"Sorry, Mi-nam, but her brother doesn't count."

Instead of running to that particular guy, though, Mi-nyeo stopped short. It was Tae-kyung who stumbled forward, wig teetering precariously, thanks to a shove from Mi-nam. The vocalist shot him an uncharacteristically bashful look before throwing dignity to the wind and enveloping Mi-nyeo in a hug. "Welcome home. I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too, hyungnim," she answered, hugging him back.

"I can't believe you're still calling me that," he said, stroking Mi-nyeo's hair, which was past her shoulders now.

Though her face was half-hidden by the curve of Tae-kyung's arm, Shin-woo could see that Mi-nyeo was smiling, happy to finally be back where she belonged. "I've become used to addressing you as a guy."

"I hope you haven't lost your star."

"I'm wearing it right now."

"All right, that's enough; it's my turn." Coming forward, Mi-nam yanked the pair apart and gave his sister a bear hug that lifted her off her feet. "Welcome home, Mi-nyeo."

"Welcome back," Shin-woo echoed.

She smiled at him as her twin put her down again. Shin-woo had had a year to come to terms with the reality that Mi-nyeo was never going to be his girl, but the smile that she gave him was still every bit as sweet as when he had believed it was possible. "Thank you, Shin-woo hyung; thank you, Jeremy," she said when the blond boy offered her the flowers.

"We should probably get going," Tae-kyung reminded everyone then. "We don't want to risk staying here too long and being recognized."

Nodding, Mi-nam took charge of his sister's suitcase and the small group made its way to the parking lot. "I've been following AN JELL on the Internet," Mi-nyeo said as they walked. "You've been very busy."

"We had a big concert tour this summer," Mi-nam replied, "but that's over now. There's still the new album to record, and other promotional stuff to do, but it's going to be a bit more relaxed for a while."

"That's good; I was worrying that you might be working too hard. Oh, and I loved your new video!" She smiled fondly at her twin. "You looked so cool, oppa."

"Hey, what about me?" Jeremy whined, bounding alongside her like an overgrown puppy.

"You were very cool, too, Jeremy," Mi-nyeo assured him. "You and Jolie. And you, too, hyungnim," she added when Tae-kyung cleared his throat.

Shin-woo, bringing up the rear, smiled as he watched his bandmates vie for Mi-nyeo's attention. She had been part of AN JELL only briefly, but in that short time she had become close to the rest of the band. "It feels as though we're complete again, doesn't it?" he remarked.

Mi-nam grinned at him over his shoulder. "It sure does."

* * *

To welcome Mi-nyeo home, Jeremy had organized a party at the AN JELL mansion, where she would be staying for a few days before returning to her old teaching job at the convent. He had pored over the details for days but, being Jeremy, still managed to forget some important things.

"Of all the things he could have forgotten, it had to be the beer," Ha-neul observed wryly as she and Shin-woo drove to the 24-hour supermarket on an emergency run. "I thought that's the _first_ thing a guy would buy."

"He thought we still had some back at the house," Shin-woo said in defense of his bandmate.

"I also don't understand why Jeremy and Su-jin couldn't do the grocery shopping," she went on. "It's not as though we're—" She cut herself off. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

He glanced at her and said nothing. However, instead of forgetting what Ha-neul had said, he began to wonder if she was onto something. Rather than jump at the chance to take his girlfriend grocery shopping, Jeremy had been really eager to push _them_ out the door...

For her part, Ha-neul was glad that she had managed to shut up before mentioning boyfriends and girlfriends. She pounced on the first distraction that appeared. "Hey, you're playing the Doors!"

"Yes, I am," he said. "They're cool, aren't they? I looked up the Doors on the Internet and they were pretty wild for their time."

"They were, but I hope you're just appreciating their artistry and not thinking of copying the crazier things that they did," she cautioned, having read about them, too.

"I like the idea of pushing limits, but within reason," Shin-woo assured her.

"That's good." Reaching out, she skipped the CD to "Hello I Love You."

"Is that your favorite song?" he asked as the distinctive intro came on over the speakers.

"Yeah, it's my all-time favorite. I listen to it a lot, especially before modeling assignments," she admitted. "It gives me confidence."

Shin-woo paused, listening to the lyrics. "Because it helps you imagine everyone looking at you?"

"Oh, my God, no!" Ha-neul said with a mock shudder. "To be honest, that idea still scares me to death.

"It's more like the girl in the song doesn't care that everyone's looking at her," she explained. "I know it's not nice to be a snob, but sometimes you just need to pretend you're strong and untouchable. Like a goddess," she finished, smiling again as she remembered what Nang Eun-hee had said.

"You mean you're not like that?"

"No." She paused and stole a glance at him, but he was busy watching the road. "Do I seem that way?"

"A little bit," he said. "And it's not just now; even back in elementary school, I thought you were like that. It wasn't a bad thing, though," he clarified. "In fact, it was even kind of cool."

"Really?" She bit her lip to hide her smile at the compliment. "That's funny. I used to think the same thing about you back then."

"I hate to disappoint you, but I didn't think I was cool at all." Shin-woo gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "I was pretty shy in those days."

"Me, too," she admitted. "But look at us now — you're a member of Korea's most popular band and I have my picture taken for a living."

"Life has a way of turning around on you sometimes."

"It certainly does."

He glanced at her again, but she was looking out the window. "So... you don't feel the same about me anymore?"

"What?"

"You said you thought I was pretty cool in elementary school," he reminded her. "You don't think I'm cool now?"

It took her several moments to respond. "It was hard to know what to think of you in those days," she said finally. "You barely spoke to anyone."

"So now that I'm talking to you, the mystery is gone?"

"That's not what I meant!" Ha-neul said indignantly, then changed her mind. "No, actually, you could say that. Now that we've interacted with each other a bit more, you're not as mysterious as you once were."

"And not as cool now, either?"

Shin-woo wasn't looking at her, needing to concentrate on driving, but he could sense her groping for an answer. She found it looming on the right side of the road. "Oh! Here we are at the supermarket!" she exclaimed, relief evident in her voice. "Go in through there and find a parking space while I get out that shopping list Jeremy made us."

He grinned at the obvious cop-out. Part of him was touched that she had been aware of his existence back then when hardly anyone else had. Touched... and curious. Not only did she remember him from school, all these years later, but she had also cared enough to try and form an opinion about him. Why?

That part, however, was a small one, he told himself firmly. The rest of him just thought it would be fun to tease her. Ha-neul was funny when she was flustered.

_

* * *

That was close. How did the conversation turn so personal?_ Ha-neul shook her head as she followed him across the parking lot. _We should stick to talking about business, or at least superficial things. What's past is past._

"What did you say?" Shin-woo asked, looking at her over his shoulder.

She blinked, taking a while to realize that she had said part of her thoughts out loud. "N-nothing!" she managed to say. "I was just repeating the things on the shopping list!"

He smiled at her. "That's not 'nothing,'" he teased.

Refusing to lose her nerve in the face of that smile, she drew herself up and gave him a severe look. "We can discuss philosophy later," she declared, striding past him on her way into the supermarket. "Right now, we need to shop."

Ha-neul charged into the building like a housewife on a bargain sale day. "We need beer, ice cream and some snacks," she said briskly. "I should bring back some fruit, too, as my contribution to the party."

"You're acting like there's absolutely no food at the house," Shin-woo chuckled as he strolled in behind her. "Relax. They can survive for a few hours without us."

"But..." She blinked. Did he _want_ to be alone with her on an outing like this? "We can't stay here for too long. If people recognize you, there will be a riot."

"You're kind of hard to miss yourself," he replied, looking her over and giving her a smile that said he clearly liked what he saw.

Ha-neul blushed. It was a good thing she knew that Shin-woo just happened to be a very nice guy; otherwise, she would have thought he was flirting with her. Still, she thought, would it hurt to pretend that he _was_ flirting with her... and to flirt back, just for a little while?

They secured a shopping cart and set out to fill Jeremy's shopping list. "Do you want to ride inside?" he asked with a grin.

"No, thanks; there won't be enough space in there for me _and_ everything we need to buy." She laughed. "And you might not be able to push the cart after a while."

"Hey!" Shin-woo protested, the picture of wounded masculine pride. "I'm stronger than I look."

"Really?" she teased. "Then why was I able to take you down with just one elbow?"

"You took me by surprise then." They found the beer stacked in cartons near the back of the supermarket and he loaded several into the cart. "If you ever try that again, we'll see who takes who down."

Feeling rather reckless, Ha-neul looked him over the way he had her just a while ago. "Maybe I will try it again sometime," she said with a flippant little smile.

She resisted the temptation to duck her head as her moment of recklessness passed, and started pushing the cart towards the freezer section with her head held high. Maybe it was more provocative than she would have initially liked, but at least she had come up with a witty reply for once!

* * *

Shin-woo felt almost disappointed when they had found everything on their shopping list and were ready to check out. Of course Ha-neul had to bring up the elbowing incident again, but it had been fun doing things like this, like a normal person, and with her.

Briefly, he wondered how she would react if he asked her out on a real date... and then wondered why he was thinking such things. Despite his best efforts, he had been rejected too many times in the past; he didn't need to be turned down yet again. He believed that he was a nice guy, but he still had his pride.

_Still,_ a little voice inside him said as he stole a look at her, walking beside him, _Ha-neul doesn't look like she would say no..._

They passed through the bath products section on their way to the checkout counter, where an advertisement caught Shin-woo's eye. "Ha-neul!" he exclaimed. "It's you!"

"What?" She looked around until she saw the facial wash ad to which he was pointing. "Oh, that. Yes, it was one of the first modeling jobs I ever had. I'm surprised they're still using it now, though."

"Maybe the company decided to keep it because you're more famous now." He pulled out his cell phone and told her, "Stand next to it. I want to take your picture."

Ha-neul looked embarrassed. "You want to take a picture of me with myself?"

"Sure! It'll be like your ad came to life. Please?"

He seldom used his "winning" smile because he rarely had to work to persuade anyone to do anything, but it looked like it still worked, because her eyes narrowed and she stomped over to stand next to her advertisement. "Fine," she said, then arched an eyebrow. "But you know, I hardly ever have my picture taken for free. In exchange, you have to do me one little favor."

Shin-woo eyed her suspiciously. "Is it going to hurt?"

"No," she promised, and smiled. "You won't have to spend any money, either. And I'll even let you do it when we're alone. Do we have a deal?"

He smiled, too. He still had no idea what she wanted from him, but it sounded harmless enough. "OK, we have a deal."

He snapped a couple of pictures of Ha-neul holding a tube of facial wash and copying the pose in the advertisement. When he had one that was satisfactory, he put his phone back in his pocket. "Your hair is different," he observed.

"What?... Oh, yes, it is." She ran a hand through it self-consciously. "Su-jin convinced me to have it cut after we finished making the music video."

"Really? I hadn't noticed it before."

"I understand it takes a while for boys to notice things like this."

"Ha ha." He reached over to nudge a lock of hair out of her eyes. "It looks really nice."

"Thank you," Ha-neul said shyly. "Um... we should probably finish paying for all of this stuff before the ice cream melts."

They paid for their purchases and loaded the bags into the car. Shin-woo waited until they were on their way back to the house before bringing up the second part of their deal. "So, what's this favor you wanted?"

"I want you to answer one question."

He smiled. That sounded easy. "All right, what is it?"

"What's the real story behind that 'legend' of yours that Jeremy mentioned some time ago?"

Shin-woo hesitated. OK, it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

"We had a deal," Ha-neul reminded him. "And I promise, I won't tell anyone. Did you really take down 17 gangsters at once, all by yourself?"

"I suppose you could say that," he said evasively, hoping that would be a good enough answer.

Of course, it wasn't. "Well, what happened?" she persisted.

"Didn't you say I had to answer only one question?"

"You didn't answer the one I asked." She folded her arms. "We had a deal, Shin-woo, and if I remember right, you're the type who always keeps his word."

He was, and it got him into trouble sometimes. Like now. Shin-woo sighed heavily. "Do you remember Han Suk-chul, from our old school?" he asked after several moments.

Ha-neul rounded on him, her eyes wide. Suk-chul had been one of the biggest and meanest kids in their class. _"You beat him up?"_

"Not exactly," he admitted, his cheeks beginning to grow warm. "During our last year in middle school, he and his gang were hanging out near the main stairwell." He cleared his throat. "I... I didn't know that when someone dared me to slide down the banister."

She gasped. "Did you hit them when you went down the banister?"

"In bowling terms, it was a perfect strike." He shook his head at the memory. "When I saw who I'd hit, I ran out of there as fast as I could. I don't think Suk-chul ever found out that it was me."

Ha-neul fell silent. When he glanced at her, he saw that her shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. "You said you wouldn't laugh," Shin-woo said, his face red.

A laugh finally bubbled out of her. "No," she said, "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. I didn't say anything about not laughing."

He had the pleasure of listening to her giggle all the way home, even if it was at his own expense.

* * *

Upon their return to the AN JELL mansion, Ha-neul discovered that Stylist Wang and Manager Ma had also been invited the party.

The plump little man looked surprised when she walked in the door in Shin-woo's wake, then eyed her suspiciously. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"What a thing to say!" Stylist Wang admonished. "And it's not even your house!"

Ha-neul agreed that it was a pretty rude question, but knew she had to be polite to an elder. "I was invited," she replied.

"Jeremy wanted Su-jin to meet Mi-nam's sister," Shin-woo explained to the band's handler. "We thought Ha-neul should come, too, so Mi-nyeo could meet another girl her age."

"You're not here to challenge my boys to another basketball game and injure them again?" Manager Ma asked, narrowing his eyes at Ha-neul.

"Of course she isn't, you idiot!" the stylist snapped, whacking the back of his head. "Take a good look at her — she's dressed to attend a party, not to play basketball! You look great, by the way," she added, smiling at Ha-neul. "Pink is an amazing color on you!"

She smiled back at the older woman. "Thanks. It's nice to see you here. Are you friends with Go Mi-nyeo, too?"

"Uh... yeah!" Stylist Wang nodded enthusiastically.

"They got to know her when she used to visit Mi-nam," Shin-woo told her.

"Before she went to Africa," the manager added.

"Well, that's nice!" Ha-neul said, and laughed. "For a while I thought you two were here to chaperone the party and keep us all out of trouble."

"There is that, too," Stylist Wang joked.

Shin-woo had to balk at that. "Hey, we're good guys! Have we ever gotten into trouble? At least in the past couple of years?" he added when skeptical looks crossed both staffers' faces. "Ha-ha! Come, Ha-neul," he added quickly, "we should probably put these things in the kitchen. We don't want that ice cream to melt."

"Something tells me I should get Su-jin out of here instead," Ha-neul teased as she followed him through the living room. "Who knows what kind of scandal may erupt before the evening is through?"

"There won't be any scandal," he told her. "Coordi-noona and Manager Ma were just exagerrating."

"At least about the past couple of years?"

"I just meant that we hadn't done anything crazy during that time," Shin-woo said, rolling his eyes. "And before that, we were just kids. The worst trouble we ever got into was making a big mess, which we then had to clean up."

"I'm sure that taught you not to get into trouble anymore." She laughed. "Or, at least, not to get caught."

* * *

"I'm a genius!" Jeremy gloated to Su-jin later that evening. They were standing together on the mansion's front deck, away from the rest of the party, on the pretense of wanting some private time. (For the sake of propriety, they had a chaperone along, but their chaperone was currently busy gobbling up some doggie treats.) "Did you see the way Ha-neul and Shin-woo hyung looked when they came back from the supermarket?"

"It looked like she was laughing at him for some reason," she pointed out.

"But he didn't mind!"

"Of course he wouldn't mind! Shin-woo is a gentleman, unlike _some others_ I could name," she added pointedly, "who just grab people by the wrist and drag them away like he was a caveman or something."

"We must think of other ways to get them together," Jeremy said, too absorbed in his plotting to pick up on the insult. Jolie, finished with her snack, looked up hopefully, wanting more. "Maybe I should just go ahead and lock them in a closet."

"I don't think there's a closet anywhere in this house that's big enough for the two of them."

"That's OK," he said with an evil grin, shuffling as his dog nuzzled his feet. "The smaller the closet, the better."

"All right, stop right there," Su-jin ordered. "Although I'm supporting this hare-brained scheme of yours because you think our friends like each other, that's going a bit too far. What if people found out? Or what if one of them got hurt accidentally?"

"I guess it would be hard to explain Shin-woo hyung's broken nose if Ha-neul elbows him in the face again," he admitted.

"When did she ever do that?" She rolled her eyes, too annoyed to pay any attention to Jolie, who was nudging her legs. "Anyway, that's not the point. The point is locking them in a closet is a bad idea."

Jeremy brightened as another idea occurred to him. "Maybe we should make something happen on my birthday! It's three weeks away, you know," he added casually.

"Am I supposed to throw you a parade or something?" she asked sarcastically.

"If you want!" The blond boy stroked his chin thoughtfully, grinning and ignoring Jolie's plaintive whine. "I'm going to have a party. There should be lots of opportunities to throw Shin-woo hyung and Ha-neul together. We can get them to dance with each other... or they can do a duet! Does Ha-neul sing? No, wait — let's get them drunk and admit that they like each other! And capture it on video so they can't ever take it back!"

"You haven't heard a single thing I said!" Su-jin poked him in the ribs in frustration, then jumped into Jeremy's arms when Jolie barked and tried to nip at her ankles.

"Jolie!" the dog's master half-scolded, half-laughed. "What's the matter with you?"

"I think she wants to eat me!" Su-jin accused.

"Don't be silly. Jolie knows you're poisonous."

"Very funny. Don't you dare drop me," she warned, clinging to his neck. "If I fall, I'm taking you down with me!"

If Su-jin hadn't been so distracted with Jolie trying to bite her, and Jeremy with making fun of Su-jin, they might have noticed that they were being watched. Fortunately for Ha-neul and Shin-woo, who were standing at the only window looking out into the deck, the pair was too engrossed in bickering.

"I wonder how Jeremy got Jolie to scare Su-jin," Shin-woo remarked, keeping his voice low even though they were out of earshot. "That was a pretty slick move... for Jeremy."

"I hope he's not complaining that she's fat," Ha-neul said, peering at the couple outside and trying to read the blond boy's lips.

"I don't think he's doing that. He's not even staggering." He turned away from the window in time to see Tae-kyung standing across the living room, watching them with mild amusement.

At first, Shin-woo thought that his bandmate was also watching the action on the deck, but then the vocalist pointed to Ha-neul and gave him an approving nod. Shin-woo mustered a casual smile and shook his head, trying to indicate that it wasn't at all what Tae-kyung thought, but the other guy only raised a skeptical eyebrow and exited in silence.

"This is embarrassing," Ha-neul said. Fearful that she had witnessed his exchange with Tae-kyung, Shin-woo turned back to her and was relieved to see that she was still intent on her spying and had been referring to Jeremy and Su-jin. "Why hasn't she come down from there yet?"

"She's probably still scared that Jolie will bite her." The dog was still there, circling the couple, as if inspecting her handiwork. "Or," he suggested, "she just likes having an excuse to have Jeremy hold her."

"And I'm sure he's happy to have a chance to show her how strong he is."

Shin-woo chuckled. "That, too."

She glanced at him, but he was busy watching to see what would happen next. Just then, Stylist Wang strutted down the corridor and, spying the pair at the window, stopped and peered at them curiously. Her jaw dropped when she recognized them and she shot Ha-neul a wide-eyed look that seemed to demand, _When did all of this happen?_

Blushing, Ha-neul replied with a tiny shake of her head and a discreet point to the window, trying to indicate that the real action was outside, but the older woman didn't seem to understand. Instead, she gave Ha-neul a double thumbs-up and started doing a dance of joy. Stylist Wang was wearing house slippers, so she wasn't making much noise, but Ha-neul frantically signaled for her to get lost, lest Shin-woo realize that they weren't alone and things become really awkward. The older woman gave her an exagerrated wink and danced her way out of sight.

"Is something wrong?" Shin-woo asked, turning away from the window just as Stylist Wang disappeared.

"Um... I..." Ha-neul racked her brain for an answer. "I was just trying to hear what was going on in the kitchen!" she managed to say. "You know, we should probably leave Jeremy and Su-jin alone, and join the others. I wouldn't want Go Mi-nyeo to think we're ignoring her."

"Oh! Yeah, that's a good idea." He smiled. "She's very nice, isn't she?"

It was clear to Ha-neul that Mi-nyeo was Tae-kyung's girlfriend, but she still felt something inside her deflate when Shin-woo smiled and spoke of the other girl in such a warm tone. "Very nice," she agreed, managing a smile of her own. "Come on, let's go."

Unlike her twin, Go Mi-nyeo was shy and exceedingly polite. As if that wasn't bad enough, she was delicately pretty and not too tall for a girl. She was Ha-neul's middle school deportment lesson come to life, and Ha-neul would probably have hated her if Mi-nyeo wasn't so down-to-earth and genuinely interested in her new friends.

"You mentioned something about playing in a basketball game next weekend?" Mi-nyeo asked later that night, when they were all hanging out in the kitchen, having some snacks while cleaning up.

Ha-neul smiled and nodded. Talking about the game should be a good diversion from the sinking feeling in her stomach that wasn't supposed to be there. "One of our former teammates works for a foundation that helps needy children, and she's organizing a fundraising fair with an exhibition game between our team and last year's college basketball champions."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Mi-nyeo said. "And it's for a great cause."

"That's why practically everyone said yes. That, and we thought it would be great to play together, as a team, again. It's only for fun, but we're training and scrimmaging just like we did before." She smiled. "You should all come."

"Will they have to play?" Manager Ma demanded.

"Don't worry, they won't have to play," Su-jin assured him, then shot the band a mischievous grin. "You'll have to cheer for us, though."

"In that case..." Jeremy wrinkled his nose. "I don't know..."

"Way to support your girlfriend, Jeremy!" Mi-nam laughed.

Su-jin gave the blond boy a kick. "Yeah, _oppa_," she said pointedly. "I do things for you all the time, and when I ask you to do just one little thing for me—"

"Hey, when have I ever asked you to do anything for me?" Jeremy asked, rubbing his leg.

"Do you want me to list them all down?"

Tae-kyung sighed loudly. "Why don't you just kiss her and get it over with?" he asked. Mi-nyeo giggled as Jeremy and Su-jin subsided, their cheeks red, behind stacks of dirty dishes to be carried to the dishwasher.

"I think what Jeremy means to say," Shin-woo broke in gently, "is that even though we're not touring right now, we are still working, so we might have business appointments on that day. We'll try our best to come, but we can't make any promises, all right?"

Su-jin, still looking annoyed, smacked Jeremy's shoulder on their way back from the dishwasher. "If that was what you meant, you could have said it that way."

"Trying your best is enough for us," Ha-neul said good-naturedly. "We hope you can make it."


	8. Constant Craving

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're Beautiful_. I own everyone/everything else, except Dankook University. (I think they did win the collegiate basketball championship last year, but I can't remember where I read that.)

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to FallIntoAHellCalledLove for reviewing :)

_

* * *

Chapter Eight _— _Constant Craving (k.d. lang)_

"Will you please stand up straight? I don't want this hem to be crooked."

"I'm sorry." Ha-neul straightened obligingly, and the seamstress kneeling at her feet began to re-pin the hem.

She was standing on a stool in Nang Eun-hee's Jongno district workroom, fitting one of the gowns she was to wear at the designer's runway show, which was only a few weeks away. Even though she wasn't an expert, Ha-neul knew that the column of fuchsia silk she was wearing was a work of art, but that day she was unable to appreciate its beauty.

"What is it with you today?" Ms. Nang asked, peering up at her.

The older woman didn't look angry, but Ha-neul looked guilty nonetheless. "I just have a lot on my mind," she mumbled.

(It was true, she did have quite a few things to think about; besides the fashion show, there were the basketball practices and photo shoots this week and the charity game that weekend... as well as quite a few matters that she really shouldn't be thinking about, but were on her mind anyway.)

"Is your boyfriend giving you trouble? Because if he is, I shall have to give him a good scolding for affecting your work."

She blushed. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Really? Hmph! Then the boys you know are all stupid. What's wrong with them?"

"What?" Ha-neul had to laugh at that. It was a mean thing to say, but also sort of a compliment to her at the expense of others.

"With your personality and looks, they should be killing each other for the chance to date you," the seamstress remarked as she checked the re-pinned hem once again.

"That's right! At the same time, though," Ms. Nang added, with a dismissive wave of a beringed hand, "it's not much of a loss for you. Whatever you call them these days — boys, friends, boys who are friends — they're not worth stressing over."

The swift about-face made Ha-neul's head spin. "I-I'm not stressing over anyone," she insisted feebly.

But the older woman had warmed to her topic. "There are so many other important things in life that need your attention!" she went on. "For instance, there's your career — with all these opportunities coming in, you wouldn't want to waste them, would you?"

"No, of course not." Ha-neul and her father had been working towards this ever since her dream to become a professional basketball player had ended in Beijing. Even though she could no longer be one of the best basketball players in the country, Ha-neul could be one of the most successful models. At the very least, they agreed, it was a good living.

"I'm not saying that you should give up dating altogether," the designer explained, "but you should know how to keep boyfriends in their place. You should be able take care of yourself first — work hard, save your money, discover who your true friends are, that sort of thing."

"You're building a foundation for the rest of your life," the seamstress added, moving on to check the straps of the gown. "Shoulders back, dear."

Ha-neul dutifully straightened her posture. "That's what I'm doing," she said. "I mean, my dad's helping me with my career and he always tells me to be careful with my money. He knows what can happen when people are given more money than they can handle."

"Good." Ms. Nang gave her an approving nod (and so did the seamstress). "That means I don't have to worry about you as far as career is concerned. Now, boyfriends, if they're too demanding, can take you away from this path that you must take."

"They can cost a lot of money, too," the seamstress grumbled. Ha-neul bit back a laugh and tried to keep still.

"Who needs that kind of aggravation?" Ms. Nang demanded. "Certainly not you."

"I guess not," Ha-neul agreed as the seamstress finished working on the gown straps.

Both seamstress and designer stepped back to inspect the gown, and Ms. Nang made a noise of approval. "That's much better. Ms. Gwok, you can finish the sewing on that piece already. Are there any other pieces that Ha-neul needs to fit?"

"No, sunbae."

"That's all for today, then, Ha-neul," Ms. Nang said, holding out a hand to help her off the stool. "The next time I see you will be at the first rehearsal for the fashion show."

She smiled and sketched a bow as Seamstress Gwok unzipped the back of the gown. "Thank you, Ms. Nang."

"Do you have any more appointments today?"

"No, just meeting my friends at the gym. We're playing in a charity basketball game on Saturday."

Instead of looking impressed, the designer scowled at her. "Basketball? You had better be careful. I don't want any bruises or injuries! It would totally ruin the show."

Despite her sharp tone, Ha-neul gave the older woman a warm smile. Ms. Nang came off as demanding and abrasive most of the time, but the older woman set the same high standards for herself, and clearly cared about the people whom she selected to work with her. "I'll be careful," she promised.

* * *

The charity basketball game for the benefit of the Pan Chung-ae Memorial Children's Foundation took place on a crisp Saturday afternoon at one of the largest orphanages supported by the foundation. The game, between members of Korea's Olympic women's basketball team and the men's team from Dankook University, was actually part of a whole day of festivities, including exhibits, games, a picnic lunch, and a program with song and dance numbers by the children.

The women's team was definitely not the same one that had played in the Olympics, and was competing against players who were younger, stronger and better-conditioned. However, experience eventually prevailed and the women squeaked by with a two-point victory, thanks to a couple of clutch free throws scored by a forward who had given birth to her first child just a few months before.

After the game, the players were swamped with kids begging for pictures, basketball lessons and piggyback rides. The winning team was a particular object of wonder for the children. "Unni, can girls really play basketball?" asked a wide-eyed munchkin.

"Of course we can," Ha-neul told her firmly. "And we can beat the boys, too."

"Do you _have_ to rub it in?" asked Kim Byung-hyeon, captain and star center of the Dankook University team, as he walked by with two little boys perched high up on his shoulders.

"I'm afraid so," she teased. It was just a friendly game, but a win was always sweet. "How are these girls going to remember that women can do things just as well as men, if you don't tell them again and again?"

"They could always watch the video," Byung-hyeon said. He gave her a pained, but still good-natured, smile. "Then they can watch all those baskets you scored against me. Which were very good shots, by the way," he added magnanimously.

"Thanks."

"Too bad you didn't go on to the pros. I'm sure you would've been awesome."

"Perhaps," Ha-neul said modestly.

"But you can still play basketball, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, I play light games, for fun."

He smiled. "Cool. Maybe we can play sometime."

Just then, a photographer approached and asked to take a picture. Ha-neul smiled obligingly as she and a large group of children posed with Byung-hyeon and his passengers. One of them kicked his feet impatiently when the photographer was done. "Hyung, let's go!" he cried. "I want to get some ice cream!"

"All right, all right, we're going," Byung-hyeon laughed, reaching up a hand to steady the boy. He smiled at Ha-neul. "Excuse me, but duty calls. I'll talk to you later, OK?"

"Sure," she replied. "Bye."

"Nice game," someone behind her said. Startled, Ha-neul let out a little squeak and turned around.

Shin-woo stood behind her, casually dressed and disguised with a baseball cap and glasses. "Hi, Ha-neul," he greeted her cheerfully.

"Shin-woo!" she blurted out. "You're here!"

"I was invited, wasn't I?" he said with an amused smile. "You were great out there."

She blushed and managed a smile in reply. "Thanks."

"The kids seem to really like you, too." He nodded towards a little girl who had latched on to Ha-neul during the picture taking, and hadn't let go of her hand since.

Sensing that she was being talked about, the child looked up at Shin-woo. "Of course we like her!" she said, renewing her grip on Ha-neul's hand. "Unni can play basketball and she's pretty. Don't you think so, sunbaenim?"

Shin-woo laughed, but was prevented from giving his opinion by Su-jin's arrival. "Shin-woo, you're here!" the smaller girl exclaimed, walking up to him with a smile. "We're so glad you could make it! Are you here by yourself?"

"I'm afraid so," he replied. "The others had busy schedules today, so I'm here representing the whole band." He gave Su-jin an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Jeremy couldn't be here, Su-jin. I promise I'll tell him that you played really well."

She sniffed and waved a dismissive hand. "You can if you want to, but it's not necessary. I've already dumped him."

"What?" Ha-neul gasped. "When did this happen?"

"Very, _very_ recently" was the curt answer.

"I'm so sorry," she said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine."

"Is there anything we can do?" Shin-woo asked, trading concerned looks with Ha-neul. But Su-jin just shook her head, staring at the ground and scowling.

The awkward silence that followed was broken by the little girl who was still holding Ha-neul's hand. "You know, unni," she advised, "people say that when you're sad, you should probably have some ice cream."

Su-jin laughed briefly. "That's a great idea. I should probably treat the kid to some ice cream for making such a good suggestion, huh?" she asked her friends. "What's your name, little girl?"

"Min-jung," the child answered, looking delighted at receiving so much attention from the adults, and at the prospect of ice cream.

"Hey!" Ha-neul protested as Min-jung let go of her hand in favor of Su-jin's. "What about us?"

The smaller girl looked at the pair and mustered a smile. "I'm afraid you'll have to fend for yourselves," she replied, starting towards the food booths with her new escort.

Shin-woo chuckled, glad that Su-jin seemed to be regaining some of her usual spirit. "Don't worry, Ha-neul; I'll treat you. Let's go."

* * *

Although they hadn't been able to attend, the other AN JELL members were still interested in hearing about the game. Fortunately, everyone was home for dinner that night, so Shin-woo's bandmates were able to press him for details.

"It was exciting." The guitarist grinned and helped himself to some rice. "The first thing Ha-neul did when she entered the game was to get whistled for an elbowing foul."

"I bet you really enjoyed that," Tae-kyung said with a smirk.

"I did," he laughed. "Besides that, though, she played quite well. She must have scored about ten points — and this was against guys who are practically in the KBL already!"

"Impressive," Mi-nam remarked, looking amused.

"Su-jin played well, too," Shin-woo remembered to add, then cleared his throat uneasily. "Or maybe I shouldn't have mentioned Su-jin. I'm sorry to hear that she broke up with you, Jeremy."

_"WHAT?"_ Mi-nam exclaimed. Tae-kyung, too, looked surprised.

Jeremy, though, turned bright red and said nothing. Instead, he scowled and stormed upstairs. In the tense silence following Mi-nam's outburst, they heard his footsteps thunder overhead and moments later, a door slammed.

The keyboardist rounded on Shin-woo. _"They broke up?"_ he demanded.

He nodded. "It surprised me, too. Su-jin says it was very recent."

"And very bad, it looks like."

"What a shame," Tae-kyung remarked mildly as he blew on a spoonful of soup. "It was fun seeing someone annoying Jeremy for a change."

"At least it sounds like they're still talking to each other," Mi-nam observed. They could hear the blond boy's voice from upstairs, although it was hard to tell whether he was arguing with Su-jin or begging her to give their relationship one more chance. "Maybe they can still work it out."

"I hope so," Shin-woo agreed. "It's Jeremy's birthday on Friday. He shouldn't start the year like this."

"Then invite her to the party," Tae-kyung suggested. "Maybe she can jump out of the birthday cake or something."

Mi-nam wrinkled his nose. "I don't know about the cake. We might have a food fight instead of a reconciliation."

"I was being sarcastic about the cake," the vocalist informed him, rolling his eyes. "All right, no cake, then. She should still come to the party, though."

"That's a good idea, brother-in-law. If Jeremy sees that she wants to wish him well, maybe they'll get back together. At the very least, my sister will have company."

"We should invite her soon, before she makes other plans. Ha-neul will come, too, of course."

Shin-woo nodded and poured himself some tea. "I'll invite Ha-neul, and ask her to bring Su-jin along."

"I guess that's taken care of," Mi-nam said with a satisfied nod. "Tell us more about the game, Shin-woo. Who won?"

"Oh, the girls did, by two points. Someone made some free throws in the last minute of the game. Ha-neul said that player had a baby not too long ago."

"Whoa. I told you those women were scary." The keyboardist shuddered, and then he laughed. "Did the other team pout after they lost, the way you and Jeremy did after Su-jin and Ha-neul beat you?"

"We did not pout," Shin-woo insisted.

"He was too busy trying to get his breath back," Tae-kyung snickered.

The guitarist ignored that. "The other team didn't get mad, either. All the players were actually kind of friendly with each other once the game was over."

"I guess they know when to be aggressive. It's just a game, after all."

"I guess so." Shin-woo sipped his tea and remembered overhearing the tail end of Ha-neul's conversation with one of the Dankook University players. They had seemed to be really friendly.

A strange expression must have crossed his face, because the next thing he knew, his bandmates were peering at him curiously. "Are you OK, Shin-woo?" Mi-nam asked him.

Tae-kyung, who had just helped himself to some tea, eyed his cup with suspicion. "Is there something wrong with the tea?"

"There's nothing wrong with the tea," Shin-woo said, mustering a smile, "and there's nothing wrong with me. Everything's fine."

But the memory of what he had seen earlier that day continued to bother him for the rest of the night, hindering his attempts to work some more on his song.

_I really shouldn't care about this,_ he thought, strumming idle chords on his guitar. _Ha-neul isn't my girlfriend. _

However, she was his friend. He had promised to watch out for her, and he hadn't liked the looks of that guy who had been talking to her. But then, Shin-woo thought reasonably, what did he really know about him? The basketball player was obviously a key part of his team, which would probably make him a little cocky, but maybe he was nicer off the court. If he wasn't, well, Ha-neul wasn't stupid. She could drop that guy like a stone with that elbow of hers.

_I guess I'm taking my promise a bit too seriously._

Sighing, Shin-woo put down his guitar and decided to call it a night. He consoled himself with the thought that at least he was making some progress, however slow, on the song. He knew that he wanted to write one, and had an idea of how he wanted it to sound. The only thing left was to figure out what he wanted to say.


	9. Addicted to Love

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're Beautiful_. As stated, "Addicted to Love" belongs to Robert Palmer, who I believe sang the original version, and "On My Way" to Rocket Diary. The KBL belongs, as always, to itself.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to FallIntoAHellCalledLove, propertyofjensenackles and darKitty for reviewing :)

_

* * *

Chapter Nine __—__ Addicted to Love (Robert Palmer/Tina Turner)_

Jeremy's birthday dawned on a bright and sunny day, which meant that AN JELL's fans were able to turn out in droves for the fanmeeting scheduled for that day. "Isn't it sweet of Jeremy oppa to share his special day with his fans?" Ae-sook rhapsodized to her friends as they waited to enter the Seoul Olympic Hall, where the event was to be held. The drummer was her favorite AN JELL member, so naturally she was very excited. "It's like he's having a big birthday party and we're all invited!"

"All of the boys have fanmeetings on their birthdays," Hyun-jae pointed out.

"Yeah, but this is _Jeremy's_ birthday. His fanmeetings are a lot more fun than the others'. He's a lot more game when he gets teased, and crazier stuff happens." She giggled. "Remember the food fight with the birthday cake last year? I heard AN JELL got in a lot of trouble over that, but it was funny!"

"We probably won't see another one this year, then," Sayuri commented. "I hope that means there will be more chances for us, the fans, to interact with the band."

"I don't know about that, Sayuri," Hyun-jae told the other girl nervously. "The list of guests looks a lot longer this year, so there might be more production numbers instead."

The fan club president looked displeased. "Who's supposed to be coming this year?"

Hyun-jae whipped out her trusty notepad. "Well, almost everyone from last year's birthday fanmeeting is supposed to return, including of course the rest of AN JELL," she reported. "Also some actors, but I think they're really just included because they're promoting a new drama..."

"They're not important, then," Sayuri sniffed. "Who else?"

"There are also some all-stars from the KBL." She laughed. "Maybe they're going to shoot some baskets with Jeremy!"

"That's never happened before," Ae-sook observed. "Why do our oppas suddenly seem to like basketball so much? Could it be because of So Ha-neul?" Having pored over every inch of press relating to AN JELL's music video, they now knew quite a bit about the girl who had appeared in it with the band.

"It could be, but then she's not on the list of guests for the fanmeeting."

The officers of the AN JELL fan club paused to breathe silent sighs of relief. With the large amount of exposure she had received, they had been afraid that the band's association with the model was more than professional. Maybe it was, but the fact that she wasn't going to be at the fanmeeting was a sign that they still weren't _that_ close.

Suddenly, the crowd of fans started screaming as the familiar white AN JELL van came into view. For Sayuri and her friends, it was time to stop speculating on what was going to happen at the fanmeeting, because the time had finally come to find out. Despite their excitement over the chance to see their oppas up close and personal (and maybe win a raffle prize, or get to hug the birthday boy), the fan club officers were able to get a cheer going to greet Jeremy when he alit from the van.

_"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEREMY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEREMY!"_

* * *

The outpouring of love and support from his fans and friends in showbusiness cheered Jeremy immensely, and he arrived at his "real" birthday party that night in good spirits. As he usually did when one of his boys had a birthday, President Ahn had booked an entire club so that the band, the staff closest to them and selected friends and family could celebrate in private.

"Don't drink too much," Mi-nam told his sister sternly as the twins entered the club along with the Jeremy and the rest of AN JELL. "You're not used to this kind of lifestyle and you have no head for liquor."

"That seems to run in the family," Tae-kyung remarked. Mi-nyeo laughed as her brother made a face, and the AN JELL vocalist allowed himself a rare grin. He did not get many chances to get the last word with Mi-nam, so he was going to enjoy it.

"Bah, let's not worry about that!" Jeremy scoffed. "We're all friends here and we can take care of each other. Let's just party!" He beamed when he caught sight of a female standing practically head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd. "Ah, Ha-neul is here!" he exclaimed happily, but his smile faded when he caught sight of the girl in red standing next to her.

"We asked Su-jin to come," Shin-woo told the blond boy in a low voice. "We don't know what happened between you two, but you should talk things over like reasonable adults. Maybe you can still fix things."

"Maybe we can't," Jeremy replied, folding his arms and scowling pugnaciously.

"You should still give it a shot. Even if things don't work out, at least you tried, right?"

"He's not trying..." Mi-nam observed a few hours later as he watched Jeremy flit around the party like a social butterfly, playing the gracious host to everyone... well, almost everyone. The rest of AN JELL had been nearby when Ha-neul and Su-jin greeted him a happy birthday. The blond boy had been perfectly civil then, but barely said a word to Su-jin otherwise.

"Maybe we should lock them in a closet together for the rest of the night," Tae-kyung said.

"I don't think you need to go that far, hyungnim," Mi-nyeo told him gently. "They'll come around; if not tonight, then eventually."

"I just hope it happens within my lifetime," he grumbled, his expression lightening only when Mi-nyeo gave him a consoling pat on the arm.

Suddenly, the music stopped. The crowd on the dance floor started to complain, but their complaints turned into laughter when Manager Ma took the stage with several members of AN JELL's stage crew.

Ha-neul gave the group onstage a confused look over her shoulder as she and Su-jin walked off the dance floor and sat down at their table, which was next to the band's. "What's going on?" she asked, taking a hearty gulp of her beer.

Mi-nam was laughing, too. "It's time for the program," he explained. "The staff likes to present song or dance numbers at every party. They're not professionals, for the most part, but everyone has a great time."

"Will you guys be performing anything?" Su-jin asked.

"Maybe, if we think of something fun to do. You girls should do a number, too," the keyboardist suggested with a grin.

"Oh, my God! No way!" The smaller girl grimaced. "If Jeremy saw me up there, he might throw tomatoes at me, and that would totally ruin this dress."

Ha-neul gave the band an apologetic look behind her friend's back. Although, like them, she had no idea what had happened between the couple, she was trying to get Su-jin to meet Jeremy halfway, anyway. Like Jeremy, Su-jin was refusing to budge.

Tae-kyung snorted and raised his beer bottle to his lips. "Those two are made for each other," he muttered, "but they're both too stubborn to realize it."

Su-jin looked at him. "I'm sorry, did you say anything?"

Surprised that he had been caught, the vocalist groped for words. "I-I was just telling Mi-nyeo that she should do a number!" he said finally. "She's a fantastic singer."

Blushing, Mi-nyeo demurred at first, but was eventually convinced to sing a song with her brother, who told her that it was her duty to uphold the family honor, and one by herself, as a birthday surprise for Jeremy.

Shin-woo smiled as he watched her performance. As Tae-kyung had said, and as the band all knew, Mi-nyeo had a beautiful singing voice. It also seemed that she had learned some songs other than Christmas carols during the year that she had been away. She could probably have a musical career of her own, he mused, but she wasn't interested in becoming a celebrity. It was clear that all she wanted was her own little corner of the world, and the chance to sing for the people she loved.

It was also clear, from the way Mi-nyeo smiled at Tae-kyung as she sang, whom she loved the most.

Sighing, Shin-woo shook his head and gulped down the last of his beer. The time and distance had helped him heal, but he still couldn't help feeling little pangs of regret for what could have been. He knew, though, that it wasn't healthy to dwell on the regret, especially when Mi-nyeo was obviously very happy with someone who — despite all his faults — was practically a brother to him.

He was never going to be that guy, he thought, so he might was well forget it, and just enjoy the party.

Ha-neul returned from the bar just in time to applaud the end of Mi-nyeo's number. "I see that talent runs in the family," she said to Mi-nam, who gave her a proud grin. "Who's up next?"

"You mean it's not you?" he teased.

"Ha! Definitely not!" she retorted with a laugh. "I just got back here with drinks for myself and Su-jin."

"No way are we going up there and letting these beers get warm," her friend added, accepting the beer that Ha-neul handed her. "We're going to sit back, relax and enjoy the show." She took a sip from the bottle, pointedly looking away as Jeremy walked by with a few of his friends from England.

Suddenly, a cheer arose from the crowd around the stage. Ha-neul turned in time to see Shin-woo step up onto the platform, slinging an electric guitar around his neck.

"I hope you're all having a good time," he greeted the audience with a modest smile. "In case no one's explained to you what's going on, this is something we do at every party — put on little numbers for each other, especially for the guest of honor." Shin-woo pointed to Jeremy, who acknowledged the gesture with the aplomb of a young king. (The faux-hawk hairstyle he was wearing that night did bear a vague resemblance to a crown….) "Jeremy, this one's for you."

Ha-neul gasped when the raucous intro to Rocket Diary's "On My Way" blasted from the speakers. At first, it was a perfect, if mechanical rendition, but gradually he loosened up and began to put a little more of himself into the performance.

"Wow, this is awesome!" Su-jin said enthusiastically. "I don't think I've ever heard Shin-woo sing like this before!"

Ha-neul nodded wordlessly and took a bracing gulp of her beer. She had watched AN JELL live and heard some of the songs Shin-woo had sung for the band, but it was a far cry from what she was witnessing now. Tonight, he wasn't AN JELL's genteel lead guitarist, part of a whole and sometimes overlooked. Instead, he stood alone, the stage lights shining in his hair like an electric halo, his guitar and his singing giving voice to an unnamable something that was making her heart beat much too fast.

Objectively speaking, Shin-woo was not the front man that Tae-kyung was, but Ha-neul did not care. She wished she were closer to him, close enough to feel the pulse of the music under her feet. She wished she had the courage to meet his eyes and dance at his feet as though Shin-woo were playing only for her. She wished...

She blushed and retreated behind her beer bottle. She seriously needed to get a grip.

* * *

Shin-woo ended the song with a flourish and bowed to loud applause, cheering and a standing ovation from Jeremy. Flushed from his exertions, he made his way offstage, exchanging high-fives with Manager Ma and the other staffers, all of whom were exclaiming over his performance.

"That was amazing!" Su-jin exclaimed, giving him an energetic whack on the arm when he got back to the AN JELL table.

"I didn't know you could play like that," Mi-nam said, looking impressed.

"Thanks," he said to his friends, still sounding a bit breathless. "I just felt like trying something different tonight."

"It was different, all right," Tae-kyung agreed.

Shin-woo grinned at his bandmate. Just then, he noticed that Su-jin was alone. "Where's Ha-neul?"

"She left," Mi-nyeo told him. "Right after you had finished playing. I think I heard her say something about getting some air," she added, nodding towards the corridor leading to the roof deck.

"Is she OK?"

"She looked OK to me."

"But since you're already standing anyway," Mi-nam suggested, "maybe you should go and check on her."

Shin-woo blinked, surprised. "What?"

"We did promise President Ahn that we would look out for her," Tae-kyung reminded him.

"And you've seen that father of hers," Mi-nam added. "I bet that he'll beat us all into a pulp if anything happened to her, and I'm too pretty to die."

_"Pleeeease?"_ Su-jin asked, folding her hands and batting her eyelashes.

Shin-woo laughed. "All right, all right! There's no need to beg. I'll go. Getting some fresh air sounds like a good idea, anyway."

* * *

Ha-neul was walking unsteadily, teetering on her high heels, so he caught up with her easily. Pausing at the mouth of the corridor, he watched her lean a hip against the wall and bend down to slip off her shoes. "Hey, Ha-neul," he called to her. "Are you all right?"

She turned, still hunched over, and peered at him through the long, uneven blades of her hair. Finally recognizing him, she smiled and straightened — at least, she straightened enough to drape herself against the wall. "I'm fine. Just..." She giggled. "Just a little drunk. Your perf—perfrom—you were _great_, by the way," she added.

Shin-woo smiled. He knew that she loved rock music and would be the one person who would appreciate his performance. "Thanks, but if you're drunk, I don't know if I should take that as a compliment," he teased.

Ha-neul frowned. "Hey, I may be drunk," she told him, as crisply as her inebriated state allowed, "but I still know what I like."

"I hope so!" Laughing, he walked over and leaned on the wall next to her. "So you liked the song, huh?"

She nodded enthusiastically, a motion that propelled her forward. Shin-woo reached out quickly to prop her back against the wall. "It was _so_ good. Rocket Diary's a great band. And _you_... I've never seen you like that before."

He knew that he really shouldn't be reading so much into her worshipful gaze, but surely she meant it even if she _was_ drunk? "I felt like doing something different tonight."

"Well, I thought it was great."

"I'm glad you think so. It was a lot of fun." As he spoke, Shin-woo thought that not only had it been different and fun, but playing that song also felt right, as though a long-closed door inside of him had started to open.

She sighed and leaned her head back, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "I've thought about it," she announced after several moments' pause.

"Thought about what?" Shin-woo asked, turning to look at her.

"I used to think you were really cool when we were kids," she said, and giggled. "I might have even had a little crush on you back then."

He grinned. "Oh, yeah?" That was cute, considering how young and awkward they had both been in elementary school.

Ha-neul nodded. "And you know what else?" she added, turning to look at him. "Now that I know you better, I think you're even cooler than I thought you were before."

"Does that mean... you have a bigger crush on me now?" Shin-woo asked lightly. He intended the question as a joke, but found himself holding his breath, waiting for her answer.

Ha-neul was drunk, but apparently not so drunk as to shout her deepest feelings for him from the rooftops. "Mm… maybe," she told him with a playful little smile.

His hand brushed something soft, and he realized that he had reached up to stroke her cheek. He had just managed to wind down from the high of his performance, but his heart began to race again as her lips parted and awareness flickered in her eyes.

He had known So Ha-neul since they were kids, Shin-woo told himself as they edged closer to each other. Part of him still thought of her as a shy, gangling girl in a baggy school uniform. She was also a good friend — one with a mean elbow. However, he was very much aware that she wasn't that kid anymore... and even if she did have that elbow, she didn't look like she wanted to use it, or any other dirty tricks she might know, on him right now.

"Don't waste your time trying to kiss me on the forehead," Ha-neul whispered, closing the distance between them and tilting her face up so that their lips could meet. "I'm much too tall for that."

* * *

He couldn't take it anymore.

Fed up with his bandmates' interference, with the way the issue had been gnawing at him for days, and with _her_ acting as calm and unruffled as you please, Jeremy marched up to Su-jin and dragged her away from his amused friends. "Ow!" she cried as she trotted behind him, her arm trapped painfully in his grasp. "What the hell is your problem? If you leave bruises, I'll have you arrested for assault!"

He led her to a spot out of eavesdropping distance before yanking her forward to face him. "Why did you tell everyone that you dumped me?" he demanded, the spiky tips of his faux-hawk quivering indignantly.

Su-jin glared at him as she rubbed her arm. "What did you think I was going to tell them? That _you_ had dumped _me_?"

"That would have been more logical."

"You wouldn't know logical if it kicked you in your big, empty head!" she snapped. "For your information, we're living in the twenty-first century now. Girls can dump guys if they want to!"

"Maybe so, but between the two of us, who's the star? I have millions of girl fans worshipping at my feet!"

"I may be one of those fans, but unlike the rest of them, I have my pride!"

"That's for damn sure," Jeremy growled. "Couldn't you have just understood that I couldn't come and watch your game, and not let the others think that we had broken up?"

Su-jin folded her arms. "Couldn't you have just told me that you couldn't come, so that Shin-woo didn't have to surprise me with the news?" she retorted. When he didn't answer, she poked him. "Will you pay attention? We're having an argument here!"

Jeremy, who had been staring over her shoulder, grabbed her arm again and spun her around. "Look!" he whispered, pointing to the other end of the corridor.

She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her strangled gasp and turned away quickly. "Omo! Don't look at them!"

"Why not?" he asked, peering at the couple entwined in each other's arms. Thanks to her height and the bright violet dress that she was wearing, Ha-neul was unmistakable; and the ring on the guy's hand half-buried in her hair looked _very _familiar...

"You should give them some privacy!" This time, it was Su-jin's turn to grab Jeremy's arm and yank him away from there.

The blond boy, however, was too delighted to be mad over such manhandling. "My experiment worked!"

"Yes, yes, congratulations; now shut up!" she hissed, then squeaked in surprise when he swept her up in a hug.

"Oh, Su-jin, I'm so happy!" he chortled, doing a crazed happy dance. "And they looked happy, too. Shin-woo hyung and Ha-neul looked really happy, didn't they?"

She felt a little breathless when he set her back on her feet, and tried to hide her discomfiture by snapping at Jeremy. "I don't know. I couldn't really see their faces."

"Well, it looked like they were having a good time, at least."

"Yes, they were." Although they were both trying hard to hold on to her annoyance, the conspirators couldn't help exchanging happy grins. "Now that you know your experiment worked, I guess there's nothing left for you to do," Su-jin said then, her smile fading. "You probably don't need my help anymore."

"Of course I still do, you silly girl!" Jeremy told her. "It's more important now that it's not an experiment anymore, but something real." He grabbed her wrist again, but this time she didn't complain. "Come on. We're telling everyone that we're back together again. And you had better make it convincing!"

* * *

Shin-woo held Ha-neul gingerly, wanting to hold her close but hesitant to do so because she might feel the racing of his heart. Although it had started out as a joke, what happened next felt like more than a "maybe," for him as well as for her. He told himself that it was because he was flattered that she had had a crush on him once upon a time; meanwhile, Ha-neul probably wasn't in complete control of her actions.

Part of him felt guilty about taking advantage of her drunken state, but Shin-woo tried to ease his conscience by telling himself that all he did was steal a kiss (or a few kisses, depending on how you looked at it). She could have fared much worse at the hands of another guy.

He held her closer at the thought, and she snuggled deeper against his shoulder. "Oh, oppa," Ha-neul said, her voice muffled, "the room is spinning."

Shin-woo smiled wryly as he stroked her hair. Perhaps the kiss had been so good that it made her dizzy, but then she was drunk to begin with, so he was never going to be sure. And speaking of drunk... "Are you feeling all right?"

She sighed, her breath a gentle puff of air against his neck. "I'm fine, but I-I think I need to sit down."

"There's a bench out on the rooftop. Come, I'll take you there."

A slight breeze was blowing when they stepped out onto the deck. Ha-neul smiled and took a deep breath. "This is nice," she said. Fortunately, she didn't seem nauseous at all, but it was still better to make sure that she didn't throw up. Although it happened a long time ago and Shin-woo hadn't been directly involved, the memory of the incident on the night of "Go Mi-nam's" welcome party still made him shudder.

"Here we are." He guided her to the bench.

She sat, and then lay down on it, curling up and pillowing her cheek on her hands. "I think I'll take a nap," Ha-neul announced, closing her eyes and looking for all the world like a barefoot, modern-day fairytale princess, doomed to sleep for a hundred years.

"That's a good idea."

As he stayed for a while and watched her sleep, smoothing a stray lock of hair off her face when the wind blew it there, Shin-woo reflected that there was a bright side to her being drunk. With her going right to sleep, there was no embarrassment or awkwardness between them after the fact. At least, he thought as he turned to leave, there wouldn't be any, once he managed to come to terms with what had just happened.

Ha-neul waited for the sound of his footsteps to die away before opening her eyes and pressing her hands to her flushed face. "If only I really were drunk," she whispered.


	10. Under Your Skin

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're Beautiful_, and Gu Jun-hee to the writers of _Boys Over Flowers_. _Vogue _Korea belongs to its publishers, the Seoul Ritz Carlton to whoever owns the hotel chain, and Jang Geun-seok to himself :-p

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to FallIntoAHellCalledLove, LoveCore, roadhouse and redroseinsanity for reviewing :)

_

* * *

Chapter Ten _— _Under Your Skin (Luscious Jackson)_

"Feels Like Heaven," Shin-woo wrote at the top of the music sheet, and put down his pencil with a final-sounding _clack_.

He wasn't perfectly happy with it yet — some of the lyrics still felt wrong and the melody needed fine-tuning — but essentially, it was all there: the song he had been meaning to write for the longest time now.

It was, he supposed, a love song, but not one of AN JELL's signature pop ballads about unrequited love. Rather, "Feels Like Heaven" was about the joy of being with the one you love, a story told in a husky vocal, set against the background of a frantic backbeat and the wail of an electric guitar.

"If I had known that it was the answer," he murmured with a small smile, "I would have kissed her sooner."

He caught himself. _No, I wouldn't._

_Yes, I would._

Shin-woo shook his head to clear it. The song was done; he was supposed to be over the incident already. Last night had been a crazy fever-dream, and now it was time to wake up and return to normal life. Right?

Suddenly, his cell phone began to buzz, and wouldn't you know it — Ha-neul was calling. She probably wanted to apologize for whatever she had done while drunk. Shin-woo didn't want to dwell on what had happened anymore (particularly about whether or not it had meant anything) let alone hear her apologize for it, but he knew that she would feel bad if he didn't let her have her say. After taking a deep breath to compose himself, he answered the call. "Hi, Ha-neul."

"Hi, Shin-woo," she replied. "This is Ha-neul—but of course you already knew that," she said, sounding pained.

He smiled. Even over the phone, she did not sound well. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Actually," Ha-neul admitted in her "sick" voice, "I feel like an elephant stomped on my head." However, in truth, she was giving herself a pedicure. _Thank goodness he can't see what I'm doing!_

"I'm sorry you're not feeling well."

"It's my own fault," she said as she applied some pale beige polish to her big toe. "But speaking of that..." She cleared her throat. "I seem to remember we were... together... for a while last night."

_Here it comes,_ Shin-woo thought.

"I didn't do anything stupid, did I?" she asked. "Like, you know, throw up on you or something?" Ha-neul cringed as she spoke. It was a disgusting thing to mention and she knew she was babbling, but hopefully it would distract him from... well, you know.

He traced a finger over the title of the song he had just finished. "No," he said finally. "No, you didn't do anything stupid."

That, Shin-woo believed, should be enough to let her off the hook. She could take it to mean that he was willing to attribute last night's events to her being drunk, and forget all about it in the sobering light of day. Because, he told himself, that's all that it meant.

However, Ha-neul thought, Shin-woo had touched her first... and kissed her back. For a heart stopping second last night, she feared that he wouldn't, but he had. There could thus be more to his words than casual dismissal. She was never going to ask for clarification, though. She was just going to be glad that she got her feelings out of her system without embarrassing him into avoiding her.

"I'm glad," she said, applying a topcoat of clear polish to her toenails. "I normally don't drink so much."

"Neither do I, but Jeremy's parties can get pretty wild."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Shin-woo chuckled. "You should, since you'll probably be attending more of them in the future. It looks like he and Su-jin managed to patch things up."

"Really? I don't remember her mentioning anything last night—but then that shouldn't be a surprise, since I was drunk," she remembered to add.

"Yeah, I guess."

"I wonder what convinced them to get back together."

"They probably got sick of us pressuring them to do it."

"Probably. I still can't imagine how those two even thought about dating each other in the first place, but now that I see them together, they actually make a pretty cute couple."

"You never know when and where these feelings crop up," Shin-woo said.

"No, you definitely don't." Ha-neul paused and, feeling that she should probably stop talking before she said anything awkward (or worse, exposed her charade), decided it was time to go. Besides, she still had to give herself a manicure. "Listen, Shin-woo, I need to go. I think I had better take a nap."

"Oh, of course. You need your rest."

"Thanks for taking my call. I really am sorry if I inconvenienced you in any way last night."

"Don't worry, you didn't," he told her. "Bye, Ha-neul. I hope you feel better soon."

* * *

Of course, Ha-neul wasn't really going to sleep. After hanging up, she finished doing her nails, got dressed and headed straight to Nang Eun-hee's studio for a photo shoot. Besides being photographed for the advertisements to promote what Ms. Nang now called her "Goddess Collection," Ha-neul was also going to be included in a pictorial for _Vogue_, which was running a article on the designer.

The idea of being featured in such a major fashion magazine was tremendously exciting. Ha-neul wished that the photo shoot for the ad campaign would end already so that the _Vogue_ pictorial could begin, but she told herself that this job was important, too, and tried to focus accordingly.

"Now, remember, Ha-neul," the photographer instructed, "you're the Goddess of Wisdom. I'd like you to look thoughtful but not too serious. We'll try some more serious expressions later."

"Yes, sunbae." She nodded, but otherwise stayed still as an assistant arranged her eggshell jacket to drape in elegant folds around her. Looking thoughtful was easy — there were so many thoughts whirling around in her head to begin with!

For instance, who would have imagined that she would be appearing in _Vogue_ one day? Before agreeing to model for Ms. Nang, Ha-neul had done mostly commercial modeling because her father, thanks to his work with professional athletes, had contacts in that part of the industry. Besides, she had never thought that she could become a fashion model.

"No, let's go straight to the more serious poses," the designer ordered, peering critically over the photographer's shoulder. "The Goddess of Wisdom should be a strong, cold character."

"Yes, Ms. Nang." Ha-neul dutifully arranged her face into a more remote mask, and the photographer continued snapping pictures.

Ms. Nang obviously believed that she could be a fashion model, though, Ha-neul thought. When watching her practice walking in the clothes, the designer often bluntly pointed out that Ha-neul's walk and posture needed improvement, but the fact that Ha-neul was still in the show was a strong sign that Ms. Nang had faith in her.

The designer looked over the pictures as they appeared on the computer screen. The small smile that flickered on her thin face was a sign that Ha-neul was doing a good job.

The girl smiled back, silently vowing to continue doing her very best in order to continue winning the exacting woman's approval and justify Ms. Nang's belief in her.

* * *

When Ha-neul returned home later that day, she found a colorful bunch of flowers sitting on the doorstep. Her heart skipped a beat when she opened the card and discovered that they were for her, from Shin-woo. (Of course, the card also read "get well soon," but still!)

It took a while to find one of their very few flower vases, but eventually she located one and, filling it with water, arranged the flowers inside. Ha-neul smiled as she set the vase on the kitchen table, and sat down to just look at them. It had been a very long time since she had received flowers from a guy, especially one she liked, and wanted to enjoy the moment.

She traced the velvety magenta petals of a Gerbera daisy and wondered what this gesture meant. Her rational side believed that Shin-woo had sent them out of pure friendship, but she couldn't help toying with the idea that he was sending them as more than a friend.

For such simple creatures, she thought dryly, boys could be incredibly complicated.

Just then, she heard the sounds of a car pulling into the driveway. "Ah, Appa's home," Ha-neul observed idly.

Then her eyes widened in alarm. The moment he saw her flowers, Mr. So was most definitely going to ask who had sent them... and then he was going to ask why they had been sent. He didn't know that she was supposed to be "sick."

Scooping up the vase, she ran to her room and stashed it in her closet just as her father walked through the front door. "I'm home," she heard him call out.

She emerged from her room with a bright and hopefully casual smile. "Hi, Appa! How was your meeting?"

"Fine," Mr. So answered, putting his briefcase on the kitchen counter. "Did you have your photo shoot today?"

Ha-neul nodded. "We did the advertisements first, then a pictorial for _Vogue_." She still felt a little thrill when she mentioned the name of the magazine. "Ms. Nang seemed pleased."

"She should be," her father said, frowning. "That woman works you to the bone. And in fact," he added, peering at her, "you are looking a little tired. Why don't you go lie down and rest for a little while? Let's just order something for dinner."

"OK. I'll see you later."

So dismissed, she went straight to her room, glad to get out of the chore of cooking dinner and for the opportunity to enjoy her flowers in private. Then, it occurred to Ha-neul that she should call Shin-woo to thank him for sending them.

Her heart started to beat a little faster at the idea. Honestly, just the idea of him sending her flowers in the first place made her feel funny. _I couldn't._

_But you should._

_I already called him today! He might think I'm too forward._

_You had a good reason to call him then, and you have a good reason to do it again now. Besides, not thanking him would leave a very bad impression!_

_Fine. _Taking a deep breath to pull herself together, Ha-neul grabbed her cell phone and called Shin-woo. (He was not on her speed dial... yet.)

_I will not say anything stupid,_ she vowed as she listened to the ringing on the other end of the line. _I will not say anything stupid._

_

* * *

Please don't let me say anything stupid,_ Shin-woo thought when the buzzing of his phone informed him that Ha-neul was calling.

He was sure that she was going to thank him for the flowers. There was no need, he told himself, to explain why he had sent them. They were friends and he just wanted to wish her a speedy recovery, nothing more. It wasn't even a large bouquet. People sent flowers to sick friends all the time, so what was the big deal?

Shin-woo answered on the third buzz. "Hi, Ha-neul."

"Hi, Shin-woo," she answered. "I was just calling to thank you for the flowers. They're really pretty."

"You're welcome. Are you feeling better?"

"Much better, thank you. I actually felt well enough to go to a photo shoot this afternoon," she admitted. "Ms. Nang is going to be featured in _Vogue_ and I'm going to be in some of the pictures. At least," Ha-neul added modestly, "I hope I'll be in some of them."

"That sounds really exciting. It could be your big break."

"Being in your video was my big break," she corrected him. "I wouldn't have had this opportunity if Uncle Sung-chan hadn't cast me."

Shin-woo had heard the story about the big-time fashion designer approaching Ha-neul at the launch party for the "Can't Wait" music video, so he knew what that meant. "OK, your _bigger_ break, then," he amended. "Did you ever ask her how she came to be at the party in the first place?"

"I did!" She laughed. "Ms. Nang says that her niece is a very big AN JELL fan, and the girl got her to watch the trailer of the video online. She saw me and said she had to go to the party to ask me to model for her. I didn't ask how she got an invitation, but I wouldn't be surprised if she scared someone into giving her one."

"It's like something out of a drama," he remarked, and started to think that there was an idea for another song in that story, too. "So am I forgiven for telling President Ahn that I told you to audition?" he teased.

"Almost," Ha-neul told him. "You have to do just one more little thing for me."

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?"

"All of you should come to the fashion show, as my guests. My dad and Su-jin will be there, and even though it might not be your thing, I would like you guys to be there, too. After all, it was your video that got me discovered."

Shin-woo smiled. "We'll be there," he promised.

* * *

"What in the world are we doing here, Shin-woo?" Tae-kyung asked him in a voice that was low enough to be discreet, but still loud enough for Shin-woo to hear him over the growing buzz of the crowd. "We've endorsed clothing brands before, but this is something else entirely."

The members of AN JELL, together with Mi-nyeo, were seated in a row inside a cavernous showroom, waiting for Nang Eun-hee's fashion show to begin. Even though it was currently empty, the runway still looked terribly intimidating, protruding from a futuristic gray stage where the designer's name was emblazoned in discreet black letters.

"Besides," Tae-kyung went on, "these are _women's_ clothes."

"We're not here for the clothes," Shin-woo reminded him. "We're here to support Ha-neul." How different was it, really, from watching a basketball game or concert, and supporting a friend who was an athlete or performer?

"I think it's exciting," Mi-nyeo remarked from her seat between Tae-kyung and her brother. "Is Nang Eun-hee an important designer?"

Jeremy nodded. "She's an old friend of my mother's, and when I told Mum I was coming to her show, she said that Nang Eun-hee is the best in the business."

The seats around them were quickly filling up with reporters, photographers and assorted celebrities, all of them eager to see the veteran fashion designer's latest creations, as well as to see and be seen. One of the attendees, a slender, older woman, nodded to them as she took a seat across the runway. Shin-woo recognized her as Mo Hwa-ran, the singer, and noticed that Tae-kyung gave her a little nod in reply.

However, there wasn't much time to think about it, because another, more eye-catching figure loomed into view. "There's Ha-neul's dad!" Jeremy exclaimed, getting up and waving.

"And so is your girlfriend," Mi-nam reminded him.

"Oh, yeah, her, too. Hi, sweetheart!" he greeted Su-jin as she and Mr. So approached them. "I'm so glad you're finally here!"

"I'm glad, too, oppa," Su-jin answered, pinching Jeremy's cheek with one hand. The other held a fancy bouquet of flowers, probably a gift for Ha-neul after the show. "Did you miss me?"

The blond boy pinched her cheek as well. "I most definitely did!"

Leaving the couple to their own devices, the rest of the band exchanged pleasantries with Mr. So, who looked pleased to see them there. "You're here to support Ha-neul?" he asked them after Mi-nam introduced him to his sister.

"Yes, sir," Shin-woo answered. "She invited us and we thought we owed it to her, as her friends, to come."

"There was no way I was going to miss this," Su-jin said, looking around. "It's all so exciting!"

"How can you be excited?" Jeremy asked her as he pulled her down into the chair next to his. "_You're_ not in the show."

"Yes, but my best friend is," she retorted. "And I can't wait to see the clothes. And there's going to be an after-party! I'm sure everything is going to be totally glamorous."

* * *

The fashion show was everything that Su-jin had imagined and more. The flat gray stage was the perfect foil for the jewel tones of Nang Eun-hee's Goddess Collection, which featured a number of cocktail dresses and expertly tailored pants outfits as well as the requisite gowns. If the number of flashbulbs popping and excited murmurs were any indication, this collection was going to be another big hit.

Another strong signal that Ms. Nang's collection was a success was the number of people who turned out for the after-party, which was held in the Seoul Ritz Carlton's sky lounge. Besides the models and the designer's most trusted staffers, many major players in the media, showbiz and big business circles showed up to congratulate Ms. Nang and hopefully get a little more exposure for themselves.

Su-jin could barely contain her excitement at the number of celebrities in attendance. "They're not just anyone, either!" she said. "These are really important people!"

"I feel like a peasant in comparison," Mi-nam remarked.

"Think of it this way," Shin-woo pointed out. "If all the attention is on other people, that means we get to just relax and enjoy the party for once."

"Oh, I'm not complaining," the keyboardist told him with a grin.

Suddenly, Su-jin clutched at Jeremy's arm, causing him to grimace in pain. "There's Gu Jun-hee!" she whispered. "She and her mom are always in the society pages and she looks even more amazing in person. Omo, and there's Jang Geun-seok! He is _so_ cute and he's such a good actor."

Mi-nyeo turned to look and had to agree. "He _is_ very good-looking."

Tae-kyung sniffed disdainfully. "He dresses funny."

Jeremy shook his arm out of Su-jin's grip. "If you think he's so cute, why don't you go hold on to _him_ instead of me?" he asked irritably.

She scowled up at him. "I'm just stating facts. Why is this bothering you so much?"

The blond boy was spared from having to reply by Ha-neul's arrival. "Hi, guys," she greeted them a little breathlessly. "Sorry I disappeared for so long; I hope that was the last photo call. Are you having fun?"

"It's been interesting so far," Mi-nam told her with a grin. "The girls are having fun celebrity-watching."

Jeremy peered up at her. "I'm sorry, miss; do I know you?"

Ha-neul made a face at him. "Very funny, Jeremy."

"Oh, Ha-neul! It's you! Sorry, I didn't recognize you right away. Good thing I recognized your hair." He gestured towards her elaborately teased and braided hairstyle. "That's how I was able to tell whenever you were on the runway."

She regarded him suspiciously, not sure whether or not he was joking, but decided to let things slide when Mi-nyeo spoke up. "You do look very different."

"I don't _feel_ like myself, either," Ha-neul said.

The other girl smiled. "Well, it's nice to get the chance to be someone else, just for a little while."

"That's true."

Suddenly, the tinkle of silverware on premium crystal rang out over the sound system. All eyes turned to Ms. Nang, who had interrupted the live band's performance, clearly intending to say a few words. When they saw the guest of honor standing before one of the microphones, they began to applaud, a gesture that she graciously acknowledged with a smile and bow before raising her hand for silence.

"First of all, I would like to thank everyone here for coming," she began when the applause died down. "Tonight's show was a success, if I do say so myself, but things would not have turned out so well if not for all your hard work and support..."

As the designer addressed her guests, waiters moved efficiently through the crowd, bearing trays of champagne flutes. "Don't drink too much," Shin-woo teased as he and Ha-neul plucked glasses off a passing tray.

She blushed. "I won't," she said, right before she took a big gulp of her drink.

"... and in case you were wondering why I chose to hold the after-party here," Ms. Nang continued, "I'd like you to look at the billboard on your left." She raised a thin arm and gestured to a large billboard mounted on a nearby building. As if on cue, the fabric covering the billboard fell away to reveal an advertisement for the Goddess Collection.

The crowd oohed and aahed appreciatively, but Ha-neul just gaped. Of course, she knew that she was going to model for Ms. Nang's ad campaign as well as for her runway show, but that did not prepare her for the sight of her hundred-foot-tall self on a billboard, clad in Ms. Nang's crimson "Goddess of War" gown and looking majestically down at the city below.

She managed to get over her surprise when Mi-nam clinked his glass against hers. "You look amazing."

"Thanks." Smiling, Ha-neul clinked glasses with the others around her and exchanged a silent toast with her father, who was standing across the room with a group of corporate executives. Then, she stopped short when she saw Shin-woo reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell phone. "What are you going to do with that?" she asked, eyeing the gadget suspiciously.

"You know what I'm going to do with it," he answered, grinning at her and inclining his head towards the billboard. "Come on."

"This is crazy. There are people around!" She gestured to their friends, who were watching the proceedings with unabashed interest.

"This is a major accomplishment. Don't you want a picture to remember it forever? It will only take a minute," Shin-woo cajoled. "Besides, I want to tell you something."

"What?" she asked, but he had already gone off in search of a spot with a good view of the billboard. Ha-neul scowled at his retreating back. _Boys!_

"What are you waiting for?" Su-jin hissed, nudging her in the same direction. "Go!"

Jeremy grinned. "You don't want to keep Shin-woo hyung waiting!"

"He just wants to take my picture with the ad," Ha-neul told them, shaking her head. She hoped that the stage makeup she still wore hid the blush that was most definitely rushing to her face. "That guy can be weird sometimes."

"But he said he wants to tell you something!" Su-jin said.

"It's probably something important!" Jeremy chimed in, for once in perfect agreement with his girlfriend.

"And even if it's not," Tae-kyung added, "you might as well just let him take your picture and get it over with."

"Otherwise, we'll be bothering you about it all night," Mi-nam told her.

"I'm very good at that!" Jeremy said.

"You guys are insane," Ha-neul said, feeling outnumbered. Was it so obvious to the others that she liked Shin-woo? She was sure that she had been doing a fairly good job of hiding it. Perhaps Su-jin was just teasing her, but why would Shin-woo's bandmates be doing the same?

Even Mi-nam's sister was smiling. "Go on," she said. "We'll be fine here."

Making a face at them, Ha-neul excused herself and joined Shin-woo at the balcony closest to the billboard. "Do you really need to do this?"

He grinned. "You owe me big time after that elbow."

"No, I don't," she retorted, putting her hands on her hips. "You deserved it for trying to hold me down."

"But if I don't get to do this, you don't get to hear what I want to tell you."

"Is it even important?" she asked, her heart beginning to pound. Part of her wished fervently that Shin-woo was going to tell her that he liked her, but the rest of her was trying not to keep her hopes up. She told herself that it was enough to be his friend.

"It is to me."

"Fine." Ha-neul allowed him to take a couple of pictures of her with her billboard, her indulgent smile making it clear to any passerby that this was not her idea. "Now," she said when he was done, "what is it you wanted to tell me?"

Shin-woo grinned as he pocketed his phone. "I wrote a song," he confided.

"Really?" Even though part of her was disappointed that this wasn't the momentous declaration of love that she had been hoping for, he clearly expected her to be happy for him, and as a friend, she did want to be supportive. "Congratulations."

"It's different from the ones I've written before," he went on. "I'm trying a more rock sound and I'm really having fun with it." He paused and shot her a small smile. "Since you sort of inspired me to try it out, you're the first to know."

"Oh." Ha-neul blushed. "Well, that sounds really cool. Can I hear it?"

Shin-woo ducked his head shyly. "Probably not now. It's not perfect yet. I want to make some final changes and play it for the rest of the guys. I promise I'll give you a sneak preview when we're recording it, OK?"

She smiled. "OK."


	11. Me Vs the World

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're Beautiful_, and Frankenstein's monster to Mary Shelley. I'm not too clear on who originally created Beauty and the Beast, but that's not mine either. Oh, and the Writer's Garden Coffeehouse is more or less mine, but it was inspired by _Coffee House_ :-p

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to alex, redroseinsanity and KAZU (dot) BOU for reviewing :)

_

* * *

Chapter Eleven _— _Me Vs. the World (Halo Friendlies)_

"I'm sorry, but I don't like it."

Shin-woo's entire body went cold. For a while, he thought he had heard wrong — Tae-kyung wore the same inscrutable expression whether or not he liked something — but after taking a moment to replay things in his mind, he knew with a sinking heart that he had heard correctly. "Why not?" he asked, keeping his tone of voice even.

"It doesn't fit in with the concept of the new album."

"We don't have one yet."

"No, but we have a single out already," the vocalist pointed out, "and unfortunately, your song doesn't seem to go well with it, stylistically speaking." His brow furrowed. "It's a little too... dark."

"Why don't you think about it for a while?" Shin-woo suggested. He didn't want to have to beg, but this was important. Fortunately, he had chosen to demonstrate the song for Tae-kyung first, without the others present to witness the rejection.

Tae-kyung shook his head. "I'm sorry, Shin-woo, but I don't think that would help. But if you have any other songs," he offered, "maybe we could hear them?"

"I don't have anything else yet," he admitted.

"Well, when you do..."

"I'll let you know."

* * *

Shin-woo prided himself on being a calm, collected person, but today, he had to admit that he felt slighted. More than slighted. Tae-kyung hadn't really given him a good reason for rejecting "Feels Like Heaven." Of course it was intense — it was a love song! To be fair, Tae-kyung had a point that it didn't sound anything like "Can't Wait," but couldn't there be room on the new album for something different?

"No matter," he muttered to himself on the drive home. "Feels Like Heaven" was only a first attempt. He would write other songs for the band to consider, and next time, he would demonstrate them with Jeremy and Mi-nam around. Surely they would be on his side, and together they could all outvote Tae-kyung, even if the vocalist still made most of the creative decisions for AN JELL.

And, he thought as he entered the AN JELL mansion, at least Tae-kyung had said that he was sorry.

Nevertheless, the rejection still hurt. Shin-woo had worked very hard on that song, and to have it dismissed so coldly was a blow that was practically physical. He felt as though his insides had been ripped out. There was even a ringing in his ears.

_"Your call is being forwarded to this subscriber's voice mail service."_

Startled, Shin-woo realized that he had his cell phone in his hand, and that he had called Ha-neul. He hung up quickly, then realized that calling her actually made sense. She knew about the song, and appeared to support him. If there was one person he could talk to about this, it was her, but unfortunately she wasn't answering her phone at the moment.

"I'll try again later," he murmured, oddly cheered by the prospect.

* * *

Ha-neul answered her phone the second time he called. "Oh, hi!" she said when he said hello and identified himself. "You tried to call me earlier, right? I checked my phone and saw that I had a missed call from you."

"Yes, I did," Shin-woo confirmed. "I, uh, was called away suddenly and couldn't leave a message. I hope it didn't confuse you."

"No, it's fine. I figured that if it was important, you would call me back... and here you are!" She chuckled. "What's up?"

"I wanted to let you know that I played the song for Tae-kyung today." He sighed. The hurt over the rejection was still there, but it wasn't as bad as it had been when he first got home. "He didn't like it."

"_WHAT?_ That's—that's unfair!" Over the line, Shin-woo heard a muffled protest. "I'm sorry, unni," Ha-neul said to whoever it was who had complained, and then spoke into the phone again. "Sorry about the interruption. What did you say? He said no? Why on earth would he do that?"

"He said it didn't fit in with the concept of the new album."

"I'm so sorry," she said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "Won't he reconsider?"

"He said that—" He stopped speaking as he heard another loud voice on her end of the line. "Where are you?" he asked her.

"Jeju Island" was the reply. "I'm in the middle of a commercial taping," Ha-neul told him, "and that was the director telling us it's time to get back to work. I'm afraid—"

"You're afraid you'll have to cut this short," he finished for her. "Don't worry about it; I understand."

"I'm really sorry about what happened to you today," she said, sounding as though she meant it. "I have to go now, but I promise I'll call you later, OK?"

Shin-woo smiled. "You don't have to if you're busy," he told her. It was enough to have a sympathetic ear even for just a little while.

"No," Ha-neul declared. "I'll call you tonight."

* * *

True to her word, she did call him back that night, just when he was about to go to sleep. "I'm sorry I'm calling so late," she said when Shin-woo answered, "but I did promise to call you."

He grinned, turning his bedside lamp back on and sitting up among his pillows. "Yes, you did, and I appreciate your keeping your promise."

"I would have called earlier, after we had finished for the day, but Director Joon wanted to take everyone out to dinner. I guess he was happy with the way things turned out."

"What's the commercial for?"

"Vitamins. They had us hiking and doing sports on the beach to show how healthy the vitamins are supposed to make you, or something."

Shin-woo chuckled. "Sounds exciting."

"It sounds more exciting than it really is."

"Well, at least you got to visit someplace nice. The weather here in Seoul has been dreary lately."

That seemed to remind her of the reason why they were supposed to be talking. "Are you... feeling any better?" she asked gently.

"I'm still feeling a little hurt," he admitted, "but not as bad as earlier today."

"Have you thought about what you're going to do about it?"

"Well, Tae-kyung did say that he was willing to listen to anything else I had written. I don't have any other songs right now, but I will soon." Shin-woo did have a couple of other ideas for songs, and had started working on them earlier that evening. "And I'll try to make them even better than this first one."

"That's good. You should definitely keep trying. Even if the coach won't let you play in the game, you should still work hard during practices so that he'll see how committed you are and hopefully give you a chance."

"But I don't have a coach," he laughed.

"You know what I mean." Ha-neul paused. "Why does Tae-kyung get to dictate what AN JELL does as a band, anyway? Don't you all have a say?"

"Yes, but he's the most senior. He was the first to join the band, and he's the most talented out of all of us."

"You're talented, too."

Shin-woo smiled, touched at the declaration. "Not as good as he is," he said modestly.

"There is no more or less; we're all talented in different ways. There's a reason why you were chosen to be on that team, just like he was. You should remind him that you also have skills."

"I will." He detected a little lilt in Ha-neul's voice as she spoke, as though she were trying to suppress a yawn. She'd probably had a very busy day, and it was rather late at night, which meant that she was very tired. "And it sounds like you should go to sleep."

"No, I'm fine. We can still talk if you need it."

"It's not as necessary as it was before," he assured her. "I've had all day to think about what to do, and I got to talk to someone about it. I'm feeling much better."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"This will only be temporary," Ha-neul told him. "I'm sure he'll come around in time. If not... well, I can beat him up!"

Shin-woo chuckled again. "I don't think it'll come to that."

"Maybe it won't, but don't forget, I'm always here for you if you need to talk. I've been benched a few times myself, so I know how that feels."

"I won't forget. Thank you, Ha-neul. And now you really should go to sleep."

She yawned again, this time not making any effort to hide it. "I'm not going to argue with you this time. Good night, Shin-woo, and good luck."

* * *

The Writer's Garden Coffeehouse was a perfect place for a secret rendezvous: it was one of many coffeehouses in the Hongdae district, which was frequented by young people, but since classes had yet to start, it wasn't too crowded. It seemed that he had thought of everything... except his disguise.

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look?" Su-jin asked as she sat down. "You could at least lose that stupid mustache and those sunglasses — only blind men and idiots wear them indoors."

"Well, ex-_cuse_ me," Jeremy retorted, even as he ripped off the thick black mustache and sunglasses. "I had to make do because these were the only disguises we had left at home. Mi-nam keeps using them for God knows what, and never returns them."

"Not my problem."

He snarled at her and pushed an iced coffee across the table. "If you're not careful, I'm going to fire you and find another partner in crime."

Grinning unrepentantly, she took a sip of the coffee. "Good luck finding someone with the same information that I have to give you."

"Information?" he repeated. "What kind of information?" When Su-jin said nothing, only waited with that infuriatingly smug smile on her face, Jeremy glared at her. "All right, all right, I promise not to fire you. Now, what are you talking about?"

"Well," she began, "yesterday, I took the day off work to go to the spa with Ha-neul. That in itself is a miracle, because I can barely get a hold of her these days, she has so many modeling assignments. I guess it's a blessing that she's really into modeling now, because it used to take forever to get her to try the beauty treatments with me."

"Get to the point," he told her impatiently. "I don't need all the details."

Su-jin scowled at the interruption, but did as she was told. "During the seaweed wrap, Ha-neul told me that Shin-woo was having problems. She seemed really upset. I'm not glad that he's having problems, of course, but the fact that she feels bad about it is a good sign, right? It means she really cares about him."

Instead of being delighted at the news, Jeremy gasped in alarm. "Shin-woo hyung is having problems? What kind of problems?"

"I don't know. Ha-neul wouldn't say, just that he was feeling really bad about something." She looked concerned. "You guys aren't fighting, are you?"

"Of course not!" he said vehemently. "AN JELL is just as close as it has ever been. Shin-woo hyung's problems must be about something else."

"I hope it's not anything serious."

"I can try to find out," Jeremy said, "even though it probably won't work. Of all of the guys, Shin-woo hyung is the one who hardly lets anyone know what's bothering him."

"I can try to find out more from Ha-neul, too." Su-jin looked thoughtful. "Whatever it is, I guess we should also be glad that he told Ha-neul about it. Maybe Shin-woo cares about her, too."

_

* * *

There's a reason why you were chosen to be on that team,_ Ha-neul had said, _just like he was. You should remind him that you also have skills._

Her words were running through Shin-woo's head the next time AN JELL hit the studio to record what was going to be their next single off the new album (naturally, another one of Tae-kyung's compositions). Determined to remind everyone, especially Tae-kyung, that he was in the band for a reason, he listened to instructions and threw himself into carrying them out perfectly.

It seemed to be working, at least with President Ahn. "Hey, good job, Shin-woo!" the older man's voice boomed over the intercom. In the engineering booth, AN JELL's manager stood up and clapped several times. "You're really playing well today!"

"Thank you, President Ahn," the guitarist replied, accepting the compliment and Jeremy's enthusiastic pats on the back with a smile.

"Yes, that was quite well done," Tae-kyung drawled as he took a sip of water. "Is it just me, or do I detect some extra intensity in your guitar playing?"

Shin-woo met his bandmate's gaze squarely. "Let's just say I'm especially motivated to do a good job these days."

"There's just one thing," President Ahn went on, unaware of the tension between the two young men. "The song is great just as it is, but I think it could use some added _wow_, you know? Shin-woo, how about a cool guitar solo during the instrumental portion?" he suggested. "Maybe you can put in that added _wow_ I was talking about!"

"I'll do my best," Shin-woo said, and paused. "Uh, if I can change the subject for a while," he ventured, "I have a new song I'd like to play for everyone."

Jeremy looked delighted. "Cool, hyung!"

"Let's hear it," Mi-nam said.

"Is this the one you played for me before?" Tae-kyung asked.

It seemed to Shin-woo that the vocalist expected him to try and get around the initial rejection of "Feels Like Heaven" by playing it again when everyone else was around and hopefully get them to accept the song. "No," he replied evenly. "This is a new song."

The new song was called "Transfixed." While it was still close in style to his first composition, he had made a conscious effort to add some more pop-oriented touches, including one of his signature raps during the bridge. Shin-woo believed that the song was a good compromise between AN JELL's usual style and his own growing interest in rock music.

_Surely Tae-kyung will find this acceptable,_ he thought as he strummed a final chord and looked around for his bandmates' reactions. However, one look at the vocalist's face was enough to tell him that Tae-kyung did not like this song, either.

Even Jeremy, who was normally unconditionally supportive in all things, looked doubtful. "It sounds really cool, hyung, but isn't it a bit too edgy to be an AN JELL song?"

"I thought it would be interesting to try something new for once," Shin-woo explained.

"I can see where you're going with this," Tae-kyung said, "but the mixing of pop and rock feels a little... forced, you know?"

Despite his frustration, Shin-woo held his tongue. He had to admit that, once again, the vocalist had a point — he had made the revisions mainly to make "Transfixed" more of a pop song. The blending of the various elements hadn't felt right, even to him, but he wasn't going to say so.

"I think it's interesting," President Ahn said, "but Jeremy and Tae-kyung are right, it's just not an AN JELL song. Shin-woo, if you work on it some more, maybe we can release it as a solo single."

Shin-woo suppressed his disappointment and nodded. "I'll do that. Thank you, President Ahn."

The idea of doing solo work eased the sting of rejection somewhat. Even if it wasn't going to be an AN JELL song, at least Shin-woo would still get the chance to showcase his work. "And you know we'll play backup for you, AN JELL song or not," Mi-nam promised later that day, when the boys were taking a break.

His mouth full, all Jeremy could do was nod fervently in agreement. Shin-woo could tell that the drummer felt very bad about speaking up against him regarding the song, and gave him a smile to let him know that there were no hard feelings. "Thanks, guys," he said, reaching over and ruffling Jeremy's hair.

Suddenly, the blond boy began to choke. It took several minutes of energetic pounding on his back, as well as half a glass of water, before Jeremy recovered enough to speak.

"Jeremy!" Tae-kyung scowled and grabbed a napkin to wipe invisible food particles off his sleeve. "What is wrong with you?"

"Look at this, hyung!... No, not _you_, Tae-kyung hyung! _Shin-woo hyung!_"

He had been reading the latest issue of _Young Life_, and it was open to the magazine's "Nightlife" section. Amid the various photographs of young celebrities and socialites attending this or that party was one of Ha-neul with a guy that Shin-woo recognized as Kim Byung-hyeon, the basketball player who had been having a very friendly conversation with her at the charity game.

"'Athlete-model So Ha-neul and college basketball star Kim Byung-hyeon relax on Jeju Island.'" Mi-nam read the brief caption under the picture.

"What is Ha-neul doing on Jeju Island?" Jeremy demanded. "And why is she with that big galoot?"

"She had a photo shoot there last week," Shin-woo said. It had sounded real enough over the phone, he thought as he fought to suppress the crushing disappointment that was becoming all too familiar these days. If it wasn't true, well, she wasn't obligated to tell him if she was with another guy.

"I'm sure they just happened to be in the same place at the same time," Tae-kyung declared. Shin-woo looked at him, surprised that he was involving himself in the discussion, but the vocalist was scowling intently at the picture in question. "Look at them: they don't seem particularly affectionate in this picture. They're just standing next to each other."

"Besides," Mi-nam added, "the caption doesn't call him her 'rumored boyfriend' or anything like that, and celebrity magazines do that when a couple is supposed to be dating. What?" he asked when the others looked at him strangely. "Of course I read those magazines. How else can I keep track of my popularity?"

"I don't see how she'd like him, anyway," Tae-kyung snickered. "He looks like Frankenstein's monster."

"He does, doesn't he?" Jeremy laughed. "Maybe the picture should have been called 'Beauty and the Beast.'"

"Good eye, brother-in-law," Mi-nam said, giving Tae-kyung a friendly clap on the shoulder.

Shin-woo had to laugh at that, too, even if it was a mean thing to say. He had a feeling that his bandmates were making a special effort to make him feel better. It was odd because they couldn't possibly know about whatever it was that seemed to be developing between him and Ha-neul. Perhaps they all felt bad about turning down his song earlier.

At any rate, he thought, whatever the reason, he was going to take the support any way he could get it.

That night, Shin-woo tried to call Ha-neul again, but put down his phone without even dialing her number. He wanted to tell her about the second song he had written and how that had been rejected, too. With everyone else apparently on Tae-kyung's side, she was the only person who would understand.

However, part of him didn't want to talk to her, lest he ask her about something else altogether. Given his kind of luck with matters like that, he was probably going to get an answer that he didn't want to hear.


	12. Lady Picture Show

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're Beautiful_. The song "She Is Beautiful," part of which is quoted in the text, belongs to Andrew WK. (No, I didn't choose it because the title was similar to YB :-p)

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to alex, redroseinsanity and KAZU (dot) BOU for reviewing! :)

_

* * *

Chapter Twelve — Lady Picture Show (Stone Temple Pilots)_

As Shin-woo had predicted, modeling for Nang Eun-hee turned out to be Ha-neul's "bigger" break. Although her commercial modeling jobs had picked up after she appeared in AN JELL's music video, the endorsement offers were now joined by numerous fashion modeling assignments and even a tiny, one-time part in a mid-rated drama. In contrast to the beginning of the summer, Ha-neul's schedule was now completely packed with jobs that took her all over Korea and even to neighboring countries.

It had her wondering whether accepting the invitation to appear in another AN JELL music video was a good idea. These days, the only opportunities she really had to rest were when she was traveling (and not driving) and she had to admit that she was starting to get tired. The other models had certain ways of countering fatigue and keeping their energy levels up, but some of those options were totally out of the question.

However, Ha-neul knew that the best way to keep getting modeling jobs was to remain in the public eye. She couldn't stop now, not when she was beginning to do well. In addition, she knew that she owed most, if not all, of her success to the help from AN Entertainment. There was no question, therefore, that she was going to do the video.

* * *

This visit to the AN Entertainment offices was vastly different from the first one. For one thing, quite a few people knew who she was this time. The fans keeping vigil outside the building whispered and pointed, and some even asked her for autographs or pose for pictures.

"Do you remember me?" asked one girl who was stationed near the entrance.

Ha-neul blinked. "I think so," she said finally. "We talked for a while before, right?"

"Right!" she replied, beaming. "Could I have your autograph?"

"Sure." She smiled back, relieved that she had managed to answer the girl's question correctly, and signed the piece of paper that was handed to her. "You must be a big AN JELL fan, huh, if you're here all the time?"

The girl nodded fervently. "My friends and I are AN JELL's biggest fans. In fact, we're the top officers of the AN JELL fan club," she added, gesturing to the two girls standing on either side of her like bodyguards.

"Maybe you can give us an exclusive interview on what it's like to work with AN JELL?" one of them suggested eagerly, already whipping out a notepad and pen.

"I'm afraid I can't right now," Ha-neul told her apologetically. She checked her watch. "I have an appointment with President Ahn in a few minutes and I really should be going. I'm sorry."

"Well, how about just a little tidbit on what our oppas are working on right now? Are you going to be in another one of their videos?"

"Oh! Yes, I am," Ha-neul said. "That's all I know right now, though. We're going to talk about the concept for the video at the meeting today."

"But you'll tell us about it when you find out, right?" the first girl asked.

"If they say it's OK," she hedged. She would never divulge anything confidential, but surely there were some things she would be allowed to reveal. After all, leaking bits of information would help increase excitement about the new video. "Now, I really need to go or else I'll be late."

When Ha-neul reached the main entrance, she found that the guard at the entrance was the very same one who had refused her entry the first time. This time, however, he opened the heavy glass door for her and gave her a formal bow. Deciding to let bygones be bygones, she gave him a polite smile and sailed into the building.

* * *

Taking the time to speak to the fans outside meant that everyone was already seated and ready to begin when Ha-neul showed up. "Hello. I'm sorry I'm late," she said as she was ushered into the president's office.

"Oh, Ha-neul!" President Ahn greeted her. "Don't worry, you're not late. We haven't even begun! Have a seat."

Smiling, Stylist Wang patted the empty spot next to her on the couch. Ha-neul smiled back and took the offered seat, and nodded politely to the others seated around the table. There was no time, however, to exchange further pleasantries because the meeting was called to order.

Unlike "Can't Wait," this new single was a slow ballad, which meant that the video was going to be more dramatic than the first; in fact, it might even be considered tragic. Since the song was about looking back on a love long gone, the video would consist of the singer's memories of that lost love, and perhaps hint that the girl about whom he was thinking had died.

Since he was doing lead vocals, Tae-kyung would take the leading role in the video, with the other band members portraying various supporting roles. Ha-neul, of course, would be the girl about whom Tae-kyung would be singing.

_"Got it?"_ President Ahn asked briskly after the run-down on the filming schedule. He smiled when everyone nodded. "_All right! Jackpot!_ I think we have another hit on our hands! Now, let's have lunch."

"I'm sorry, Uncle, but I'm afraid I can't join you," Ha-neul told him as everyone started getting to their feet. "I have a photo shoot across town in an hour."

Stylist Wang squealed and clapped her hands. "What's your assignment?"

"Jeans, I think." She looked sheepish. "Sometimes it gets hard to keep track these days."

"That's because you're busy," President Ahn said with a knowing nod. "It's all right, Ha-neul; you can join us another time."

"I'd like that."

Although Ha-neul couldn't join them for lunch, she could at least walk with them to the parking lot, which gave her the chance to chat with the band. "Is this video for one of your songs?" she asked Shin-woo as she caught up with him on their way out.

"No," he answered.

She blushed as a realization hit her. "I guess if it were, you would be singing lead instead of Tae-kyung." And if Shin-woo were singing, she thought, then they would have been paired together in the video.

"That's usually the way it goes."

"Did you ever try to play any more of your songs for them?" she asked him then. "You never told me what happened after that first song."

"I did once. They said no."

_"What?"_ She gasped in outrage and glared at Tae-kyung's retreating back. How dare he? If there was going to be a dance number in the video, she was going to make a point of stepping on Tae-kyung's feet!

"Forget it; it's fine," Shin-woo told her brusquely. "President Ahn said that if I did more work on it, I could release it as a solo single."

"Oh," Ha-neul said, mollified. "I guess that's a good thing, right?"

"Mmm."

Just then, everyone arrived at the parking lot and had to go their separate ways. Shin-woo gave her a formal nod and a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Good luck with your photo session today," he said. "I'll see you when we start filming."

* * *

Ha-neul was hurt and surprised at Shin-woo's coolness towards her, and wondered about it until the start of filming, a few days later, when Jeremy took her to task for dating "that guy."

"What guy?" she asked blankly as she straightened the gray knit cap she was wearing. She thought it made her head look like a mushroom, but that was what Stylist Wang had told her to wear.

_"What guy..."_ the blond boy scoffed. "That basketball player! Kim... Kim something — the one who looks like Frankenstein's monster!"

She frowned thoughtfully, then started coughing when she realized whom he meant and had to choke back a laugh. "You think I'm dating Kim Byung-hyeon?"

"Yeah, that's him. I saw a picture of you two together in a magazine! You were together at a party of some kind," Jeremy told her when she gave him a confused look.

Suddenly, Ha-neul remembered what that "party" might be. "It wasn't a party," she explained. "We were shooting on Jeju Island and the director in charge treated the cast and crew out to dinner. That's all."

He looked skeptical. "I don't know, you looked really friendly."

She scowled. Here she was, trying to set things straight, but he refused to listen and was even acting as though she were lying! Su-jin was definitely going to hear about this! "I'm not going to deny that he's a nice person, but all we're ever going to be is friends. My dad's going to become his manager and I don't date my dad's clients! Besides, why does this matter so much to you?"

"Because you're supposed to be Shin-woo hyung's girl!" Jeremy told her.

Her cheeks flamed. Was jealousy the reason why Shin-woo was being so distant? It was a nice idea, but if it were true, why didn't he ask her about this himself instead of letting Jeremy do all the talking for him? "Really?" she retorted. "I didn't know that. Why didn't anyone tell me about it before?"

"If you're not his girl, then why did you kiss him at my party?"

"I-I... I was drunk!" Ha-neul managed to sputter. "I barely remember half of the things I did at your party."

Just then, Director Han started giving instructions over his megaphone. "Ha-neul and AN JELL, can we assemble on the set, please? It's time to film the first scene."

Thus interrupted, Jeremy had time only to deliver a final warning. "Don't do those things if you don't mean them," he growled at her. "If you ever hurt Shin-woo hyung again, you're dead!"

She glared at him indignantly and was strongly tempted to walk out on him, Shin-woo and the entire production right then and there, but knew that to do so would be a poor way of repaying her uncle's kindness. Furthermore, she reminded herself, personal issues, even if they were with the people with whom she was to work, did not belong in the workplace. Surely she could suffer through it for the duration of the filming.

So, instead of leaving, Ha-neul followed Jeremy to join the director and the rest of the cast on the set. The blond boy joined his bandmates on one side of the director, facing her across an invisible battle line. It seemed to her that the boys were closing protective ranks around Shin-woo, which would be admirable if it wasn't so damned frustrating. Hopefully, one of them would eventually stop pouting and let her clear things up.

"Is everyone here?" The director looked around and nodded his satisfaction. "Good. Our first scene is of all of you together on a friendly outing..."

* * *

Su-jin was rather annoyed at having to meet Jeremy under a bridge like a common gangster — and at extremely short notice, no less — but supposed it was better this way. At least she wouldn't have to be seen in public with another one of his idiotic disguises, and have people think that she dated ugly guys. "Are those more of Mi-nam's rejects?" she asked as she got out of her car, which she had parked near his motorbike.

He glowered at her from under the curly black wig. "These are my own glasses, thank you very much."

"You look like a nerdy poodle." She smirked when Jeremy made a face at her. "So, what is this about?"

"It's over."

"What?"

"It's over," he repeated. "I'm breaking up with you. My experiment failed after all."

Su-jin went cold — although whether it was because his experiment had failed or because their fake relationship was coming to an end, she couldn't say. "What are you talking about?" she managed to ask.

Jeremy sighed heavily and leaned against the side of her car. "Shin-woo hyung and Ha-neul don't like each other." Despite his earlier anger at Ha-neul, he couldn't help feeling a bit sad as he spoke.

Her jaw dropped. "How do you know?"

He tossed the magazine onto the hood and pointed at the offending picture. "Take a look at that."

Su-jin peered at it, squinting in the dim light that managed to filter into their meeting-place, and gasped in horror. "Omo!"

"It's terrible, isn't it?"

"That's for sure! _Why_ is she wearing that outfit?"

"It's not the outfit that's the problem!" Jeremy snapped, going from morose to angry in a heartbeat. "It's the guy in the picture with her! Now, tell me," he demanded, "is Ha-neul dating him?"

"No!" she declared. "She barely has time to breathe these days, let alone date anyone. Besides," she added, "will you look closely at the picture? They're just standing next to each other, not even touching! Why are you acting like it's the end of the world?"

"Because she has no business having her picture taken with other guys when she's supposed to be Shin-woo hyung's girl!"

"Does she know that?" Su-jin _tsk_ed impatiently when he scowled and said nothing. "How is she supposed to know that she's Shin-woo's girl if Shin-woo himself hasn't told her?

"It looks to me like the ball is in _his_ court, not hers," she said, "and the shot clock is running out — if it hasn't run out already. Like I said, I don't think she's dating anyone, but if she is, it serves Shin-woo right for not taking his chance when he had it."

"Aren't we living in the twenty-first century now?" Jeremy countered. "These days, a girl can tell a guy that she likes him, if she wants to!"

"Yes, she can." Su-jin sniffed and folded her arms. "But I don't think I want my best friend to have a boyfriend who expects her to make all the moves."

Jeremy planted his hands on the hood of the car and leaned forward in challenge. "And I don't think I want my hyung to have a girlfriend who isn't sincere about liking him!"

"Don't you dare talk like that about Ha-neul!" she snapped. "You don't know her as well as I do. She's very shy around guys, and she wouldn't do something drastic like kiss Shin-woo if she didn't like him."

"She was drunk!"

"So? Sometimes being drunk gives you the courage to do things you're too shy to do otherwise."

"And sometimes being drunk makes you do things you didn't really mean to do!"

"Ha-neul wouldn't do something like that and not mean it," Su-jin insisted stubbornly. "For her to kiss anyone, even if she was drunk, she must want to do it, even just a little bit."

"I don't believe you," he harrumphed.

"Then don't. If you want to give up on them, that's your decision; but if you ever," she snarled, jabbing a finger at him for emphasis, "_ever_ question Ha-neul's sincerity again, I'll... I'll... you don't want to know what I'll do to you then."

Trying to control her trembling, Su-jin spun on her heel and started for the driver's side door of her car. "Now, get off my car! I'm going home."

Her movements were jerky as she let herself into the vehicle and started the engine. Giving him one final glare, she drove off into the night, leaving Jeremy staring after her.

* * *

The moment she got home, Su-jin dug out some ice cream from the freezer and called Ha-neul. Fortunately, her friend answered the phone and she didn't have to settle for voicemail. "Jeremy broke up with me," she wailed the moment Ha-neul came on the line. "This time, we're really history!"

"Oh, no! I'm sorry to hear that, Su-jin. What happened?"

"He was being a jerk as usual," she answered, stabbing the ice cream with her spoon. It was frozen solid — the perfect way to top off this horrible evening. "I couldn't take it anymore."

Su-jin knew that this was the perfect opportunity to tell Ha-neul the truth about the "relationship," but part of her was too proud to admit that it had all been just for show. (Besides, if Ha-neul knew, it might push her farther away from Shin-woo; and, unlike a certain blond idol band drummer who was better off nameless, Su-jin refused to admit defeat so soon.)

"Yes, I hate to say it, but Jeremy's not as nice as he used to be," Ha-neul agreed, frowning. "He's been mean to me, too. He got this crazy idea that I was dating Kim Byung-hyeon and got mad at me about it because, according to him, I'm supposed to be Shin-woo's girl. How was I supposed to know that if Shin-woo himself hasn't told me anything?"

"I know!" Su-jin said around a mouthful of ice cream. "That was one of the things we argued about."

Ha-neul gasped. "_What?_ Did I cause you two to break up? Oh, Su-jin, I'm so sorry! Do you want me to talk to him?"

"Don't bother," she told her friend. "It'll only just ruin your day. Besides, the breakup wasn't about you. We broke up because I finally saw his true colors and..." She swallowed. "I realized that he didn't really like me."

"That jerk!" Ha-neul said, sitting up straight. She was exhausted and had been about to go to sleep when Su-jin called, but her friend's shocking news had woken her right up. "Well, it's totally his loss. We'll look for someone who really likes you. Do you want me to introduce you to Kim Byung-hyeon?" she offered, only half-joking. Slightly unconventional looks aside, he was nice and funny, and it would be a shame for him to go to waste.

(Besides, she thought, if he dated someone else, then maybe Shin-woo would realize that Ha-neul could be his girl, if he wanted.)

"Not right now, thanks." Su-jin laughed, but it sounded forced and tired. "You're a good friend, Ha-neul."

"So are you, Su-jin," she replied, blinking back tears. Her friend was prickly on the outside, but gave her all for the people she loved. Jeremy was a fool for throwing that away. "If Jeremy can't recognize what a great person you are, then you're better off without him."

"And if Shin-woo doesn't have the guts to grab you while he has the chance," the other girl replied, "then _you're_ better off without _him_."

Ha-neul blushed. It seemed that, no matter how hard she tried to keep things secret, Su-jin always noticed. Well, if anyone was going to notice these things, it might as well be her best friend. "Yes, I am," she agreed, feeling a weight lift off her chest as she spoke. "Maybe someday I'll fall for someone who isn't such a coward."

"We should get together some time to talk about the stupid boys in our lives. It feels like forever since we last went to Red Mango."

"I know. I miss those times."

"Are you free this weekend?"

"No," she said apologetically, "but I think I have some free time next week. Maybe we can go then."

"Sure. It's not like I'm going to have a date or anything," Su-jin sniffed, sounding more like her old self.

"You'll never know," Ha-neul joked, "but just in case you're right, I'll check my schedule and let you know when I'll be free next week, OK?"

"OK. I can't wait!"

_

* * *

I never knew girls existed like you_

_But now that I do,_

_I'd really like to get to know you..._

Even though she was sorry about the breakup, the talk with Su-jin did a lot to lift Ha-neul's spirits. It had been a while since they had a good conversation, and Ha-neul was glad to finally confide in someone about her feelings for Shin-woo. At least now, the best possible person to support her was on her side, come what may.

The best part, she thought, was that there was more to come. The prospect of spending time with her best friend, after ages of being too busy and seeing mostly just co-workers, was motivation enough to get through the days and assignments in between. That, and — of course — some good music to get her confidence up.

_You're everything I got, you beautiful girl_

_The only thing I live for in this whole wide world_

_She is beautiful..._

"Ha-neul, please don't move your head," the makeup artist said.

She blushed, realizing that she had been bobbing her head to the music, and held herself still. "Sorry, unni."

Stylist Wang leaned in to inspect the makeup and frowned critically. "We need some more concealer here," she told her assistant. "Ha-neul, those circles under your eyes are getting worse. Are you getting enough rest?"

Ha-neul sighed. "Enough rest to make it through all my assignments, at least."

"That's not enough. You should take some days off, maybe go to a spa. If you keep going this way, it's going to take its toll on your skin. In fact..." The stylist prodded gently at her face. "I think it's already starting."

"Well, I am going to get some free time next week, when we have a break in shooting," Ha-neul volunteered. "I'm definitely going to get some rest then."

"Good." Nodding approvingly, Stylist Wang patted her arm and moved on to check on Tae-kyung in the other makeup chair.

_I ain't got nothing to lose_

_Only living one time_

_And I want you_

_She looks good_

_And it's true_

_The girl is beautiful_

_She is beautiful..._

After receiving Stylist Wang's approval, Tae-kyung unfolded himself from the chair and gave Ha-neul a brief nod. "Shall we go?"

She made an affirmative noise and turned off her MP3 player.

"Good song?" he asked as she rose from her chair.

Ha-neul nodded. "I'll listen to it again later."

As she followed him onto the set, she thought that it was a good thing that she had to film only with Tae-kyung today. At least he wasn't Shin-woo, whom she couldn't bear to face; or Jeremy, who glared at her whenever he thought no one was looking; or Mi-nam, who seemed to want to ask questions that she didn't want to answer. Of all of them, Tae-kyung was the most able to maintain a professional distance, which made him the easiest to work with.

Too bad she was still a little put out with him over his treatment of Shin-woo's songs.

* * *

"What are we doing here, hyung?" Jeremy asked grumpily.

"President Ahn told us to come," Shin-woo told him.

The boys were sitting with their bandmates on the set, in the park where that day's segment was to be shot. It was rather early in the morning (hence Jeremy's bad mood), on the last day before shooting was temporarily put on hold so that Tae-kyung could attend to some prior commitments. As far as everyone knew, only he and Ha-neul were needed today, but the night before, Manager Ma had told the rest of the band that they had to be there, too.

"Director Han has an idea for a different ending for the video," President Ahn announced as he walked up to his boys. "I thought we could all hear it together, so that it would be easier to decide whether or not to use it."

"Did he say anything about what his idea might be?" Tae-kyung asked.

"Maybe the video will confirm that Ha-neul's character died by having a segment of her as a zombie," Mi-nam joked.

Their manager shook his head. "He just said it would make the story more interesting, and the climax more dramatic."

Just then, they heard a door behind them open, and the sound of footsteps. President Ahn smiled. "Ah, Ha-neul! How nice to see you! You look very pretty today."

Shin-woo looked up to see her walk away from the production trailers and approach them. He had to admit that she was indeed very pretty in the pale pink dress that was her costume for the segment. The only jarring note to the romantic look was the sneakers she wore on her feet; the silver shoes that matched her outfit dangled from her hand.

Ha-neul addressed the older man warmly. "Good morning, Uncle, and thank you. It's nice to see you, too." She turned to AN JELL and gave them a polite nod. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Shin-woo replied. His bandmates likewise returned her greeting with varying degrees of warmth. His eyes locked with hers for the briefest of moments, before President Ahn spoke again, requiring her to turn her attention back to him.

The AN JELL manager asked after her father, teased her about her choice of footwear and told her about Director Han's proposal for a different ending to the video. Ha-neul smiled, answered his questions and obligingly endured the teasing. She did not say anything to the band until she excused herself to leave.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shin-woo watched her make her way across the grass towards where the director stood. Despite her height, she looked very small and alone; he knew that she had been having a difficult time during the shooting. He also knew that he had to have a serious talk with her (and with Jeremy, who was being particularly unpleasant to her) sometime.

That wasn't going to happen anytime soon, though, for Tae-kyung started talking about synchronizing their schedules. Soon, the entire band was busily working out the days when they would all be available to go to the recording studio.

Their conversation was cut short by a loud scream. Stylist Wang was staggering as she tried to hold up a limp body... one wearing a familiar pink dress.

Shin-woo wasn't sure how it happened, but the next thing he knew he was on the scene, gathering Ha-neul in his arms. "Ha-neul?" he asked, shaking her gently. Her head lolled back like a wilted flower. "Are you all right? Ha-neul!"

But her eyelids didn't even flutter. She slumped lifelessly against him, pale and unmoving.


	13. Golden Sunlight

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're__ Beautiful_, and the Kyung-hee University Medical Center to Kyung-hee University (duh, LOL).

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to alex, Shinu Mae and KAZU (dot) BOU for reviewing! :)

_

* * *

Chapter Thirteen — Golden Sunlight (311)_

The emergency room of the Kyung-hee University Medical Center was a madhouse. Even though there were currently no actual patients in the waiting room, the hospital staff was seriously distracted by the presence of the country's top idol group, various members of their staff and a growing gaggle of reporters. Security was torn between keeping order and snapping photos of AN JELL for their daughters.

Shin-woo mustered a smile as he signed an autograph for an excited nurse. "Any news about our friend yet, ajumma?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry, not yet," the plump woman replied, accepting her autograph with delight, "but once there's word, I promise I'll let you know!"

"You'd think Mr. So would be able to get answers right away," Mi-nam observed in a low voice when the nurse had gone, "but he's still in there with her." He nodded towards the corridor through which Ha-neul had been wheeled on a gurney hours ago. Her father, who had rushed straight to the hospital after hearing the news from President Ahn, followed her in not long after.

"Maybe they're doing a lot of tests," Jeremy said, looking genuinely concerned. Stylist Wang sat in a chair not far away from him. She hadn't stopped crying since arriving at the hospital.

"She was breathing, right?" Tae-kyung asked Shin-woo.

"Yes. As far as I remember," the guitarist said, "there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her breathing. That's what the people in the ambulance said, too. It looked like she had just fainted."

"That's a good sign."

Shin-woo nodded numbly. He fervently hoped his bandmate was right, but then Tae-kyung wasn't a doctor, so how would he know? And couldn't the people who really were doctors hurry up and find out what was wrong, so they could tell everyone?

Suddenly, a figure burst through the crowd of reporters. It was Su-jin, and she looked close to tears. She looked around wildly and, picking out the band in the crowd, rushed over to them. "Is she OK?" she demanded.

"We don't know," Shin-woo told her truthfully. "No one has come out yet to tell us what's going on."

"Oh, no..." Her face crumpled.

Jeremy rushed forward and enfolded her in a hug. With her face safely hidden against his chest, she began to sob. He looked alarmed, but didn't let go. "Don't cry," he said, patting her back awkwardly. "She'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

Hearing the click of cameras behind them, Shin-woo approached the reporters who were trying to get a clear shot of the couple. "I hope you will respect our privacy at this time," he told them quietly. "We're all very concerned about our friend."

Most of them obligingly stowed away their cameras, but there were still ghouls who persisted in trying to get a scoop. "Did her collapse have anything to do with drugs?" one of them asked.

"I'm sure that it didn't," Shin-woo said. "Ha-neul is a former Olympic athlete, and clean and healthy living is very important to her. However, we won't have the final word until the doctors finish their work."

He knew, of course, that that wasn't going to satisfy the media. Now that a member of the band had come over to speak to them, the reporters continued to ask prying questions, some even insinuating that she might be pregnant or the victim of a demonic possession. Nevertheless, for him it was something to do to keep his mind off his worries.

His bandmates seemed to agree. Soon, Shin-woo was joined by Tae-kyung and Mi-nam in fielding the reporters' questions with diplomatic, non-committal answers expressing their concern and respect for their fallen friend. Even Jeremy shouted answers from a distance, still trying to shield Su-jin from the cameras.

"Oh, if Ha-neul could only hear how you guys are suddenly all sticking up for her," muttered Su-jin. From the sound of her voice, she was over her crying jag, and she was now trying to pry herself loose from Jeremy's embrace.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, also speaking in a low tone so that the reporters wouldn't overhear.

"Don't play innocent with me. I know how you've been treating her, especially after you thought she was dating Kim Byung-hyeon." She pulled a handkerchief out of her purse and dabbed at her eyes, trying to salvage her appearance. "If you're feeling guilty now that she's sick, it serves you right. Now let me go."

"But the reporters—"

Jeremy didn't need to worry about the reporters; they were busy trying to jockey for position because Mr. So had finally appeared, looking as though he had aged ten years. "She'll be fine," he announced. "The doctors say her collapse was due to exhaustion. They've put her on an IV and she's resting. She'll stay here for a while so that doctors can monitor her condition, but she will most likely go home in a few days. Thank you all for your concern."

Ha-neul's father sank down onto the nearest chair as the reporters, curiosity more or less satisfied, began to take their leave. Only a few people — and none of them reporters — noticed his stricken expression. "Are you all right, Mr. So?" Shin-woo asked him gently.

He shook his head. "They said..." His voice cracked, and he swallowed. "They said she was working too hard, not getting enough rest. How could I do that to Ha-neul? I promised her mother that I would always take care of her."

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault, sir."

"Who else could be responsible? I'm her manager. I got her all those jobs." He sighed heavily. "All these years, I've heard about celebrities pushing themselves too far and making themselves sick. I always vowed to myself that would never happen to any of my clients. How could I let that happen to my own daughter?"

"Shin-woo is right, Kang-dae," President Ahn said, taking the seat beside him and offering him a paper cup of coffee. "You shouldn't blame yourself. Didn't you tell me that you and Ha-neul go over the offers together, and choose which ones to take? I'm sure you both thought that she could take this workload."

"But she couldn't."

"Neither of you knew that."

Ha-neul's father grunted before taking a sip of the coffee. "I don't think she'll be able to finish shooting your video," he said finally. "I'm sorry, Sung-chan."

"Don't worry about it," President Ahn assured him. "We're nearing the end of filming. I'm sure we can use use a stand-in for the rest. If not, we'll just see what we can do. Just tell Ha-neul to concentrate on getting well."

"I'll do that. Thank you for helping her." Mr. So nodded to his old friend and to the band and crew members gathered around him, and got to his feet. "I need to make some calls and see if I can reschedule her other assignments," he said. His jaw hardened in the combative expression that had once struck terror on the hardcourt, many years ago. "If any of those companies gives me a hard time, they can forget about her modeling for them, ever."

"That's a good idea," President Ahn agreed with a small smile. "Keep yourself busy; Ha-neul will probably be asleep for a while. In the meantime, I should get all my people out of here before we get arrested for disturbing the peace."

Mr. So nodded. "Thank you all again."

"Sir?" Shin-woo found himself saying. "Could you please tell Ha-neul that we were here, and that we all wish her well?"

The older man looked down his nose at him for a few moments before nodding. "I'll do that." He bade them goodbye and disappeared again down the corridor.

"I guess I should get back to the office myself," Su-jin said, hitching the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder.

"Do you need a ride?" Mi-nam asked her.

Jeremy glared at him, then turned to issue an invitation of his own. "We can take you home instead if you'd rather..." he said to Su-jin.

"That won't be necessary." Her eyes were still puffy from crying and the tip of her nose red, but she drew herself up with queenly dignity. "I left my car at the office and need to go get it anyway. But thank you for the offer." With a formal bow, she spun on her heel and marched out of the hospital.

* * *

Ha-neul awoke to the sound of her father's voice. What was he doing in her room? she wondered woozily. Was she late for an appointment? She tried to open her eyes, but they seemed so heavy... "A-Appa?" she managed to say.

"She's fine—she's awake!" her father said. "Call me later!" Ha-neul heard the beep of a cell phone and the sound of footsteps, then felt his hand on her forehead. "Ha-neul, are you all right?"

She opened her eyes a crack. Mr. So's shadow loomed over her, surrounded by blazing white. "I'm thirsty," she said. Her mouth felt as though it were filled with cotton. _Dirty_ cotton. Ugh.

Within moments, she felt a straw nudge against her lips. Ha-neul took a few sips of water before pushing the straw out of her mouth. Soon, she felt strong enough to open her eyes all the way, and saw that she was lying in a hospital bed, a tube in her arm. "What am I doing here?"

"Don't you remember?" her father asked as he put the cup of water on a nearby table. "You collapsed on the set this morning. The doctors said it was due to exhaustion."

Ha-neul frowned, then her eyes widened in alarm as she remembered what she had been doing right before losing consciousness. "The video! And I have two photo shoots today!"

She tried to get up, but her father held her down with a firm hand on her shoulder. "Relax. It's all taken care of. Everything's fine."

"Did they reschedule?"

"Most of them did," Mr. So told her gently, "but I had to pull you out of the video and cancel some contracts. Your health is the most important thing right now; the doctors said you need to rest for the next few weeks, at least."

Ha-neul made a weak noise of protest, even though deep down she was more relieved than anything else. Her largest worry about the cancellations was the damage they could do to her father's business relations with those contacts. They had worked so hard to cultivate those relationships, and now they might have to start all over again. "I'm sorry," she said, her eyes filling with tears. "I thought I could handle all those assignments."

"Ssshhh, it's all right," he assured her, smoothing her hair off her forehead. She hadn't heard him talk to her this way since the night her basketball career ended in Beijing. "It wasn't your fault. I should have been more careful about how many jobs you accepted. I just wanted you to have every possible opportunity to be successful in your new career."

She knew that he didn't want her to cry, but she couldn't stop the tears from falling at the guilt in his voice. Weakly, she tried to reach up and wipe them away. "It wasn't your fault, either, Appa. I wanted to be successful, too."

"We'll be more selective about your assignments in the future," her father promised as he pulled out a handkerchief to dry the rest of her tears. His hand stilled. "That is," he amended, "if you still want to be a model. I'll understand and support you if you want to stop. It's your choice."

"I'll think about it," she said slowly. "I want to have time to rest and do other things, but I like modeling, too. Ms. Nang wants me to keep working for her, and I think I want to do that. She's nice."

Mr. So frowned. "_Nang Eun-hee_ is nice? She called me right before you woke up to scold me for making you work too hard."

Ha-neul laughed. It felt like ages since she had had a good laugh. "She does scold a lot, but she's no worse than some of my old basketball coaches. I just think of it as her way of showing that she cares."

"I guess she does care about you," he admitted grudgingly. "She was one of the first to send a gift."

It was only then that she noticed the fruit and flowers arrayed on a side table, and the balloons tied to a nearby chair. "Some of these are from the companies whose contracts we had to cancel," Mr. So told her. "Most of the people I had to contact have been very understanding."

"I'm glad." She guessed that the dramatic arrangement of stargazer lilies might have come from Ms. Nang. Other gifts had cards with company logos on them, including a large basket of flowers from AN Entertainment.

Her father saw her looking at the flowers and cleared his throat. "Kang Shin-woo wanted me to tell you that they were here, and they hope you get well soon," he said. "They accompanied the ambulance, actually, and stayed in the waiting room the whole time we were with the doctors."

"Oh." A stuffed toy dog that looked a lot like Jeremy's golden retriever sat next to the flowers, and Ha-neul wondered whether AN JELL had sent that, too. "I should thank them, then."

There was a pause. "That boy — is he someone special?" Mr. So asked in the nervous yet protective tone of voice that he reserved for talking about the guys that Ha-neul had dated.

She shook her head, her eyes still on the stuffed animal. "He's just a friend." Part of her wanted to ask him whether it would be OK if Shin-woo _did_ become "someone special" someday, but chances were that wasn't going to happen, so there was no point in asking.

Her father grunted and got to his feet. When he spoke again, it was about something else entirely. "You should have some of this fruit," he said. "You need to eat if you're going to regain your strength."

* * *

Ha-neul's collapse attracted a healthy share of media attention, due partly to her own rising profile within the industry and partly to where she had been when it happened, but the buzz didn't last long in a public that was used to having celebrities suffer from exhaustion on practically a regular basis. Nevertheless, the companies for whom Ha-neul had modeled prior to her hospitalization rushed the launch of their new publicity campaigns in order to capitalize on her notoriety, and soon pictures of her were everywhere.

"I wonder how Ha-neul is doing," Mi-nam remarked as the AN JELL van passed a bus plastered with one of her vitamin ads. "She should be out of the hospital by now."

"Have you spoken to her lately, Shin-woo?" Tae-kyung asked.

"No," he replied. He had been meaning to call her, but... "I'm sure she's still very weak and needs her rest."

"I'm sure she is..." the vocalist murmured, sounding slightly skeptical.

Mi-nam turned to the other potential source of news. "What does Su-jin say, Jeremy?"

"I wouldn't know," the drummer said from his usual seat in the back. "We broke up."

"Again? Man, you are _really_ having a tough time holding on to that girl."

Jeremy scowled. "What makes you think I'm trying to hold on to her?"

The keyboardist arched an eyebrow. "What were you doing in the hospital, then? Trying to strangle her?"

"Those were extenuating circumstances," the blond boy said defensively. "She was really upset — just like the rest of us — and I was trying to keep her from making a scene."

"Yeah, but now the media has seen you two together. Next thing you know, the tabloids will be asking about the identity of your secret girlfriend."

"There won't be anything to know, since I don't have a girlfriend anymore."

A slight edge in Jeremy's voice had Shin-woo looking over his shoulder at him. "Are you OK, Jeremy?"

He folded his arms and looked sulkily at his feet. "No, I'm not."

Tae-kyung broke the ensuing silence with an impatient noise. "It's funny," he observed dryly, "how once upon a time, you were all telling me to put aside my pride and go after what was important to me. Now, barely one year later, you can't take your own advice."

* * *

Lying around and doing nothing was nice for the first few days, but Ha-neul was not used to being idle. First, she busied herself with writing thank-you notes to everyone who had sent her presents while she was hospitalized, including a brief one assuring AN JELL's management that she was feeling much better and wishing them luck with the video. She went on to cleaning and reorganizing her room, then proceeded to wreak further havoc on the rest of the house, unwittingly driving her father to distraction.

"Why don't we go shoot some baskets in the park?" Mr. So suggested one day.

Ha-neul blinked. "I was about to go through the laundry room."

"That can wait! It's a beautiful day. It would be a shame to waste it."

"But don't you have meetings this afternoon?"

"I can reschedule." He gave her a small smile. "Come on, we haven't played basketball in a long time."

She found herself smiling back. That was true; they hadn't played basketball since Ha-neul decided to try for a modeling career. "OK. Let me get changed and I'll be right out."

After changing into shorts and T-shirts, father and daughter made their way to the park a few blocks from their home. It was still early in the afternoon, so the only ones in the park were a few young children, playing in the grass under the watchful eyes of their babysitters. The basketball court was empty.

"You'll have to go easy on me," Ha-neul said, swinging her arms to loosen her muscles as she stepped onto the concrete. "Don't forget, I'm still recovering from exhaustion."

"You'll have to go easy on _me_," her father laughed. "Don't forget, I'm old!"

The doctors had forbidden her from engaging in any strenuous physical activity, at least until after her next check-up, so a one-on-one game was out of the question, so the Sos decided to have a free throw contest.

It was a tight match. Both had extensive experience shooting free throws, both in game situations and in practice, and Mr. So hadn't lost his touch at the stripe. Driven by their innate competitive streaks, father and daughter sank free throw after free throw, and soon amassed a small audience of children and babysitters that kept careful count of the baskets they had scored.

Ha-neul's fans cheered loudly when Mr. So missed for the fifth time, causing him to lose the contest. Grinning, she did a little victory dance and left him to retrieve the basketball. "It's not nice to gloat," he teased her after he had chased it down.

"I'm not gloating," Ha-neul laughed. "I'm just celebrating."

"Are you ready to go home?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I think I'll stay out here and play a little more," she said finally.

"Well, I need to go now; there's some paperwork I need to look at."

"OK." She smiled as she caught the basketball off a bounce pass. "Thanks, Appa. This was fun."

"Can I play with you, noona?" a boy asked as her father stepped off the court.

"Me, too! I want to play!" another little voice declared.

Ha-neul looked with some surprise at the group of children getting to their feet and approaching her. No one else seemed to need the basketball court, and she really didn't want to go in just yet. "If your nannies say it's OK," she said, nodding deferentially to the adults, "then you can play."

"Yay!"

Mr. So smiled at his daughter over the heads of her would-be playmates. "Don't push yourself too hard, Ha-neul. And play fair!"

"I always do!" she replied, grinning back.

* * *

While Ha-neul was playing basketball in the park, half of AN JELL was spending the afternoon relaxing at home. Jeremy was in the kitchen, having a snack with his dog, when Shin-woo came downstairs. "Where are Mi-nam and Tae-kyung?" he asked as he filled a kettle with water to make himself some tea.

"I think Tae-kyung hyung is guesting on a show tonight," the blond boy replied as he tossed Jolie a dog biscuit, "and Mi-nam said he had a date. Again."

"He sure has an active social life. If he's been like this from the very beginning, it's a wonder that he made it through his training."

"Not really," Jeremy snickered, pushing the plate of cookies in front of him a bit closer to his hyung. "He passed because Mi-nyeo did all the training for him."

Both boys munched on the cookies as Shin-woo waited for the water to boil. When the kettle whistled, he fixed himself some tea while Jeremy leafed through a magazine.

Suddenly, Jeremy started coughing. "What's the matter?" Shin-woo asked, hurriedly pouring him a glass of water. "Did you eat one of Jolie's biscuits by mistake?"

Somehow, the blond boy managed to shake his head and gulp down water at the same time. Still wheezing, he pointed to the magazine lying open in front of him.

Shin-woo looked down and then back up at his bandmate. "It's an ad," he said, even though it wasn't just any ad; it was another one of Ha-neul's. "What's the big deal?"

"It's not the ad!" Jeremy gasped after chugging some more water. "Look at this!"

On the facing page was a profile of an up-and-coming girl group, but for some reason it also included a picture of Kim Byung-hyeon. Although the group's leader said that they were just "very good friends," the article insinuated that she and the basketball player were probably more than that.

"I guess Ha-neul really wasn't dating him after all," Jeremy remarked.

It took some effort, but Shin-woo managed to tear his eyes away from that passage and look up at his bandmate with a carefully casual expression on his face. "How do you know that for sure? Maybe they're using that girl to keep their real relationship a secret."

The blond boy wrinkled his nose. "I don't know, hyung; that sounds kind of unfair to use someone else as a decoy. Besides, Ha-neul told me they were just friends because her dad is Byung-hyeon's manager."

"She told you that and you didn't tell me?" the guitarist asked, frowning.

"I thought she was just making excuses. Besides, I didn't think it would matter to you."

Shin-woo took a deep breath, studying his teacup for a moment. "Well, it does," he said finally. "Is there anything else that you haven't told me that I'm supposed to know?"

"Well... right before we broke up, Su-jin told me that Ha-neul liked you." The blond boy scowled over having to mention his ex-girlfriend's name. "She said Ha-neul wouldn't let you kiss her if she didn't, even if she _was_ drunk."

He turned red. "You saw that?"

Jeremy nodded, avoiding the other boy's eyes by busying himself with rubbing Jolie's head. "It was purely by accident."

Shin-woo gulped down some of his now-tepid tea. "Did Su-jin tell you anything else?"

"She also said that the ball is in your court, and the shot clock is running out."

He chuckled briefly as he pondered Su-jin's words. "I guess it is," he said, and rose to put his teacup in the sink. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to record a song."


	14. Hole Hearted

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're_ _Beautiful_, and Red Mango to Relay International Co, LLC.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to alex, Shinu Mae and KAZU (dot) BOU for reviewing! :) (alex, yes, I'm planning a sequel, as well as a couple of other AN JELL fics!)

_

* * *

Chapter Fourteen - Hole-Hearted (Extreme)_

The cursor hovered tantalizingly over the "Send" button.

"Just do it and get it over with, hyung," Jeremy said as he peered at the computer screen.

Shin-woo took his hand off the mouse. "I can't," he muttered.

The two boys were currently in Shin-woo's room, preparing to send Ha-neul an MP3 of the song they had just recorded. At least, that was Shin-woo's task; Jeremy was there to provide moral support.

"What's the matter? Ha-neul likes you, doesn't she?"

"Yes..." At least, that was what Jeremy and Su-jin said; and Ha-neul herself had admitted that she had liked him once, and "maybe" liked him even more now. "But what if she doesn't anymore? I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to just forget about me, after the way I shut her out."

The blond boy shook his head in wonder. "I didn't think you'd get so jealous over a picture in a magazine. She wasn't even holding his hand or anything. You must really like her, huh?"

"I do," Shin-woo admitted, even though what had happened between him and Ha-neul had to do with more than just the picture.

He acknowledged now that he had been overly proud, not wanting her to see him hurting or think that he was a failure because his bandmates hadn't accepted his songs. Well, she knew that anyway, didn't she? And did she laugh, or think any less of him when she found out?

"Well, then," Jeremy told him, "this could be your last chance to let her know."

Shin-woo knew that he had missed his chance with other girls many times before because of his pride. Perhaps it saved him from many a rejection, but had it been worth it? He hadn't liked the feeling of keeping everything bottled up inside, of thinking about the could-have-beens, either. The pain of an honest rejection was probably nothing compared to the pain of regret.

"Hey, wait," he said suddenly, looking up at the other boy. "You're working really hard to convince me to tell Ha-neul how I feel, but what about you? Aren't you going let Su-jin know how _you_ feel?"

From the look on his face, that hadn't been in Jeremy's plans. "Our situation is different from yours," he said.

"How is it different? You like each other but you aren't together, and you're miserable without her. Right?"

The blond boy squirmed for several moments before nodding grudgingly. "I guess. I mean," he amended when the other guy arched an eyebrow at him, "yes. To all those things."

"So maybe being honest about your feelings might make things better." Shin-woo knew that he was stalling, but obviously so was Jeremy. "Let's make a deal," he suggested. "I'll send this e-mail if you make an effort to make up with Su-jin."

"She might laugh in my face."

"You don't think I'm not taking that risk?"

"Ha-neul's not going to laugh in your face," the blond boy scoffed. "We already know that she likes you."

"So you say," Shin-woo said, "but that's not what's important here. The important thing right now is that Su-jin likes you, too. She can barely take her eyes off you when you're around."

"Really?"

He grinned at the hopeful expression that dawned on Jeremy's face. "Yes, really, so I don't think she'll laugh at you. But if she does, then at least you got those feelings out in the open. Then you can move on without regrets."

Jeremy pondered this for several moments, then nodded. "OK, it's a deal," he said, holding out his hand. The two boys linked pinkies, the childish gesture a stark contrast to the businesslike expressions on their faces.

Tae-kyung, walking past along the corridor, spied the pair through the open doorway and stuck his head into Shin-woo's room. "What's going on in here?"

Quickly, they disengaged pinkies and chorused, "Nothing!"

The vocalist eyed them suspiciously, but grunted and continued on his way.

Shin-woo gave the blond boy a penetrating look when Tae-kyung was gone. "Even though we were interrupted, the deal stands," he said. He couldn't risk having Jeremy back out, not when his hand was already hovering over the mouse.

"Just do it!" Jeremy hissed.

_Click._

* * *

Su-jin was still craving frozen yogurt, so she had wanted to meet at a Red Mango, but Jeremy insisted on meeting at this ice cream place in the middle of nowhere. (That was an exagerration; it was still somewhere in Seoul, but nowhere near her neighborhood.) She could have said no or even refused to meet him at all, but there was something in his voice over the phone that led her, like a fool, to agree to whatever he wanted.

"Why do I keep doing this to myself?" Su-jin sighed as she dug out another spoonful of ice cream. At least, she thought, the ice cream was good... but she wasn't going to tell Jeremy that.

She was surprised when he suddenly appeared, disguised halfway decently for once in a knit cap, glasses and a dark, nondescript jacket. "Hi," he greeted her politely.

"Hi," she replied in a similar tone.

He forced a smile. "What, no 'oppa?'"

"There's no need for it," she told him. "We don't have an audience — and besides, I just remembered that I'm older than you." Su-jin took a deep breath. This conversation was going downhill fast. "I didn't hear you coming. Where's your motorcycle?"

"At home. I took the bus." He shot a baleful look at her cup of ice cream, sitting innocently on the table with a few bites missing from its scoop of strawberry.

She didn't miss the look. "I got hungry," she explained, not that it was a big deal. She hadn't been under any instructions to wait for him, after all!

"I was going to treat you," Jeremy said, sounding oddly disappointed that he couldn't.

"Oh." She blinked, surprised. He seemed to be in a really strange mood today. "Well, maybe next time?"

He glowered some more, but didn't argue. Instead, he bought her a drink when he went to buy some ice cream for himself. It was Su-jin's turn to glower when he pushed the bottle across the table at her, but she didn't argue, either, and accepted it with grudging thanks.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before he asked, "How is Ha-neul?"

"She's fine," she replied, eyeing him warily. "The doctors still want her to rest so she hasn't gone back to work yet, but she's feeling a lot better."

He gave her a small smile. "That's good."

Su-jin arched an eyebrow. "Is this why you asked me to come here — because you wanted news about Ha-neul? Why didn't you just ask her yourself?" She gasped, as though realizing something important. "Oh, wait! I forgot... she's not talking to you, is she?"

Jeremy frowned. Here he was, trying to be pleasant, and she had to speak to him that way. "No, but _you_ are," he retorted.

"We can change that," she replied, picking up her purse and getting to her feet.

She probably would have left, too, if he hadn't grabbed her hand. "Wait, wait! I'm sorry! Don't leave!" He looked up at her earnestly. "I was being stupid. I didn't ask you here just for an update on Ha-neul. Please stay."

To his relief, she sat back down. "Well, if you don't want to talk about her, what _do_ you want to talk about?"

Jeremy turned red. "I want—I want to talk about us."

Su-jin snatched her hand out of his. "There is no 'us.' Didn't you say we were through?"

That hurt, but he took a deep breath, remembering what Shin-woo had told him, and forged on. "You were right," he began. "It doesn't look like Ha-neul is dating Kim Byung-hyeon after all, and I'm willing to trust you when you say that she likes Shin-woo hyung. He told me that he likes her, too."

The news seemed to make her happy, but her response seemed more subdued than he had hoped. Instead of the delighted look that he remembered from before, this time her only reaction was a small smile. "Good. Has he told Ha-neul yet?"

"He wrote a song for her. I helped him record it, and he e-mailed her the MP3."

"That's very sweet. I hope everything works out for them."

"I'm sure it will." Jeremy cleared his throat. "That means we don't have to worry about them anymore," he went on, trying to steer the discussion back on-course. "We can start focusing on our own situation instead."

Su-jin's smile faded. "Do we still need to do this, Jeremy? If Shin-woo and Ha-neul are going to get together, then our work is done and we can just watch over them as their friends instead of as a fake couple.

"I don't even think we need to watch over them at all," she added. "They're both adults; they can take care of themselves." As much as she wanted her best friend to be happy, this kind of relationship was something Ha-neul would have to manage on her own. Outside interference, even from people who meant well, tended to complicate matters. "Besides, I'm tired of pretending."

"So am I," Jeremy told her. He reached across the table and took her hand again. "That's why I think we should... maybe... try dating for real."

Su-jin gasped, feeling her face grow hot even as the rest of her body went cold. "Just because our friends are going to become a couple doesn't mean we have to do the same," she said. This was just another one of his crazy ideas, she told herself. That strange light shining in his eyes? It was lunacy, not love.

"This has nothing to do with them. I mean, I started talking about them as a take-off point so we could start talking about us, but this isn't about copying anyone. I just—I just want to be with you."

"Why? When we're together, all we do is argue."

"I'm not really sure why, either," he said, one corner of his mouth kicking up in a small (and annoyingly cute) smile. "You're loud and you can be mean... but then I'm loud, too, and you're mean only when you think someone you care about is being picked on, and you want to defend them. I think that's pretty cool. And you know what?" he asked with a laugh. "I actually kind of like arguing with you."

Unfortunately, it seemed that his admission didn't sound good to Su-jin, because she withdrew her hand from his and got to her feet. "Wait!" Jeremy said, desperately throwing out the last weapon in his arsenal. "Shin-woo hyung said that you liked me!"

She turned red, and for a while he was afraid that she would deny it, but she didn't. "Just because I like you doesn't mean you'd be a good boyfriend for me."

He felt a surge of hope. "How can I prove to you that I can be the perfect boyfriend for you?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment. In another life, he would have hated that expression because it meant she was cooking up ways to make him miserable, but now he watched her avidly. She was cute when she looked like that, even when she was out to make him miserable.

"My ideal boyfriend takes responsibility for his actions," Su-jin finally said. "And he knows that my friends are very important to me. That means if he hurt one of them by mistake, my boyfriend would be manly enough to admit that he was wrong, and ask for forgiveness."

"So..." he said slowly, "if I apologize to Ha-neul, you'll be my girlfriend? My _real_ girlfriend?"

She shouldered her purse and picked up her half-melted ice cream. "I'll think about it."

_

* * *

Dear Ha-neul,_

_This is for you. I hope you're feeling better._

_Kang Shin-woo_

"That's it?" Ha-neul wondered aloud. It took her two days to get up the courage to read what he had to say, and all for a measly couple of sentences? There wasn't even an apology for the weeks of silent treatment, or an invitation to talk things over.

At least he wished that she was feeling better... and he had sent her something more than just that short message. The e-mail expressly said that the file attachment was for her, so it couldn't be a virus. Since it was an MP3, then maybe it was a song that he thought she might like. On the other hand, if it was a virus and this was Shin-woo's idea of a joke, then she supposed she could sue him or something.

Shrugging, she downloaded the file and, when the download was complete, opened it to listen.

_I thought I was all alone in this world_

_You should have heard my heartbroken sighs_

_And then I met you, the most amazing girl_

_With the sun in her smile and stars in her eyes..._

Ha-neul's heart began to race when she recognized Shin-woo's voice, sounding very much like it had on the night of Jeremy's birthday party. As far as she knew, this wasn't an AN JELL song — in fact, she didn't recognize it at all — but since it was Shin-woo singing, she was pretty sure that she would eventually know it by heart.

_Feels like heaven_

_It feels like heaven_

_When I'm with you, I can touch the sky_

_Jump over a building a hundred stories high_

_Feels like heaven..._

Was this one of the songs he had written? Did he write it for her? Ha-neul pressed her hands to her burning cheeks, barely aware of the guitar solo that would otherwise have sent thrills up her spine. Shin-woo was singing about something feeling "like heaven," and Ha-neul's name meant "heaven"...

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. He just sent her the song as a get-well gift, she told herself, or to let her know that he wanted to be friends again.

_When you kiss me, lightning races through my veins_

_Lost in a joyous storm, holding on to each other_

_And I wish, even though this may sound insane_

_That can we stay this way forever..._

Ha-neul gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth, which tingled at the memory of the kiss that she thought (hoped?) that the song was referring to.

She had probably exclaimed a little too loudly, because soon after, there was a knock on her door. "Ha-neul?" Mr. So asked, his voice barely audible over the music. "Is everything all right in there?"

"Um... yes!" she called back.

"Could you please turn down that music a little?"

"I will! Sorry, Appa!" She lowered the volume as requested, just in time to hear Shin-woo sing the chorus one last time before the song faded out.

When Ha-neul didn't hear anything more from her father, she played the song again.

_

* * *

Shin-woo wouldn't send a friend a song that mentioned kissing, would he?_ Ha-neul wondered after she had listened to the song five more times and shut down her computer to forcibly stop herself from doing it again (and again, and again).

She was fairly sure that he wouldn't. If he wanted to be nothing more than friends, then he probably would have just said so in his email, or sent her a song that talked about friendship. Mentioning kissing to someone you just wanted to be friends with would have been totally awkward, and Shin-woo was the type of person who didn't want other people to feel uncomfortable.

_Maybe he just made a mistake._

_Maybe he didn't._

Ha-neul bit her lip, but couldn't contain the smile that dawned over her face at the idea that this might be Shin-woo's way of telling her that he liked her. Maybe, just maybe, this was a song that he had written about her and the way she made him feel. Even if it wasn't, why else would he sing it and send it to _her_?

_I know I have some serious shortcomings as a female, but can't my woman's intuition be right for once?_


	15. Talking to My Angel

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're_ _Beautiful_.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to alex, KAZU (dot) BOU and Comet Wong for reviewing! :)

_

* * *

Chapter Fifteen - Talking to My Angel (Melissa Etheridge)_

Shin-woo had vowed that just being able to tell Ha-neul how he felt was enough, but after four days of not hearing from her, he knew that he had been kidding himself. "She could have said thank you," he grumbled on the drive to her house that Sunday. "Or at least let me know that she got the e-mail!"

He shook his head as he realized that he was talking to himself. _Get a grip, Kang Shin-woo._ He was going to visit Ha-neul to tell her that he cared about her, not to scold her for failing to observe common courtesies.

It was a pleasant late-summer afternoon, but the sunshine and crisp breeze were lost on him as he walked up to the Sos' front gate and rang the bell. The moment of truth was fast approaching, and as much as he wanted to turn tail and run back the way he came, he wanted to know how she felt, too.

Shin-woo looked up hopefully when the gate opened, but froze when he discovered that Mr. So, not his daughter, had answered the door. Getting over his surprise, he managed a smile and a bow. "Hello, sir. May I speak to Ha-neul?"

"I'm sorry, but she's not here right now," the older man answered.

"Where is she?" he blurted out. "Is she back in the hospital?"

"No." Ha-neul's father paused and gave him a long, appraising look. "She's in the park a few blocks from here," he added after what felt like an eternity of scrutiny. "She just left, so if you go over there right now, you should be able to talk to her before she gets too busy."

"Oh." Shin-woo smiled and gave the older man another polite bow. "I'll do that. Thank you."

Mr. So nodded, and then chuckled briefly. "It took you long enough to show your face here."

He blushed. "I know."

* * *

Sure enough, Shin-woo found Ha-neul in the park, standing on the basketball court with eager children clustered around her like flowers. "I want to do some slam dunks!" one of them cried, attaching himself to her leg. "Please, noona?"

"Slam dunks are for later," another kid told him. "We always play a game first!"

"I'm sorry, but Ah-ki is right," Ha-neul told the first little boy. He pouted, but brightened when she promised, "If you're good, I'll let you be the first. Now," she announced, "we have to split into two teams so we can do our warm-ups."

"I want to be on Ha-neul noona's team!"

"Me, too!"

"No, me!"

"Can I play?" Shin-woo asked.

She looked up and their eyes met. A guarded expression crossed her face and for a while, he feared that she would refuse, but she said, "Only if you promise to play fair."

He raised a solemn hand. "I promise," he said, and grinned when she nodded to indicate that he could join.

He paused to leave his jacket on the grass outside the court before jogging over to join Ha-neul and the children. "So, what are we supposed to do?" he asked, practically talking into her ear because some of the kids had started clamoring loudly to be on his team.

"First, we stretch," she replied, keeping her voice low and her eyes on the kids gamboling around them. "They're too little for a real game, with positions and everything, so what I do is give all the kids on one team a chance to shoot the ball, then we switch sides. The game is over when the score is tied.

"It's not much of a workout," she confided, "so you probably don't have to worry about ruining your shoes." She nudged one of his expensive leather shoes with the toe of her sneaker.

He stared at the rosy curve of her cheek for a moment before snorting derisively. "Only girls worry about ruining their shoes," Shin-woo scoffed.

She looked back up at him in surprise and a laugh escaped her when he gave her a small smile. "Well, you know people generally don't play basketball in street shoes."

"That never stopped us in grade school."

"No, it didn't." Ha-neul gave him a shy smile; the first time she had smiled at him in ages. "Let's do some stretches."

* * *

Shin-woo's presence made it easier to organize the children, especially when some of them realized who he was, and they quickly formed two teams, each with one adult. Ha-neul didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted that quite a few of her regular playmates wanted to be on his team instead of hers. At least Chung-ho, the boy who wouldn't let go of her leg earlier, remained loyal.

She led everyone through some warm-ups, and then it was time to play. She tried to tell herself that there was nothing out of the ordinary about this day and kept her attentions on helping the kids shoot, defend and rebound, but all throughout the "game," she was excruciatingly aware of Shin-woo just over her shoulder, shadowing her every move, breathing down her neck.

Ha-neul couldn't help being a little disappointed when he didn't try to put his arms around her again, but knew that was for the best. With some of the kids and their nannies aware of his identity, he couldn't let them think that they were more than just friends (which is _totally_ all that they were, she reminded herself). Besides, if he tried that again, he might get another elbow in the solar plexus and that would be setting a very bad example for the children.

_They'll learn the dirty tricks soon enough,_ she thought with a smile once the game was over and everyone, as usual, was a winner.

"Thinking about something funny?" Shin-woo asked her.

"Just thinking that it's time for slam dunks," Ha-neul replied, still smiling. "You'll probably get more of a workout this time, but don't worry, your shoes will still be safe."

"Slam dunks" essentially meant lifting each child high enough to reach the rim of the basket, allowing them to slam the ball through the hoop. Once again, having a second adult around made it easier to get through all the kids. They were even able to take second turns this time.

"So, this is what you're doing these days?" Shin-woo asked Ha-neul after she had declared basketball over for the day. They were sitting on one corner of the basketball court, out of earshot of the children and their nannies. Of course, he hadn't brought a towel or water bottle, but the kids and their nannies were only too happy to ply him with drinks and extra towels.

She nodded as she pulled off her wristbands and stuffed them into her bag. "I started a few days after I got out of the hospital, and now we play a few afternoons a week. It's not a glamorous modeling job," she added, unfastening her knee brace and putting that in the bag, too, "but it's a lot of fun."

"You looked like you were having fun," he said. "In fact, you're looking well."

She blushed and fluffed her bangs self-consciously. "Thanks."

"Are you going back to work anytime soon?"

"Yes. I have one more week off, then it's back to work. It's not going to be anything like the way things were right before I collapsed, though. My dad and I agreed that we're going to be more selective about my assignments from now on."

"That's good." He paused before adding, "You really scared us when you fainted on the set."

"I'm sorry. I tried to let you guys know as soon as possible that I was fine." She glanced down for a moment, then looked back up at him with a smile. "Another reason why I want to lighten my modeling schedule is because I want to keep doing things like this," she said, gesturing towards the basketball court.

"Really?"

Ha-neul nodded fervently. "You saw the looks on the kids' faces — they were so happy whenever they did something right. That's how I felt when I played basketball, too, and I like to think that I'm giving them a chance to feel that way. Maybe they'll even get serious about the sport."

"You might have a future Olympic gold medalist somewhere around here right now," he said, looking around at the handful of children who were still there.

"Exactly! I've actually spoken with my teammate who works with the children's foundation," she went on. "They have activities to promote exercising and eating right, and I think I'd like to get involved somehow."

He couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm. "It sounds perfect for you."

"Thank you." They regarded each other silently for a while before Ha-neul dropped her gaze and pulled a blue hoodie from her bag. "It's... it's started getting chilly in the late afternoon. You might want to put your jacket back on."

"Thanks." As Shin-woo put on his own jacket, he decided that this was the best, if not the _only_, time to strike. "Did you get my e-mail? What did you think?" he asked when she nodded.

"It was very short."

"I was talking about the song."

She shot him a small smile. "I thought it was amazing," she replied, the praise sounding gratifyingly sincere. "That was one of the new songs you wrote for A., right?"

"Yes, but—"

Suddenly, Ha-neul gasped. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed. "My teammate told me that her foundation wants to launch a campaign encouraging kids to play sports, and they'll need a theme song for it. Maybe you can write one for them. I'll forward you Kyung-soon unni's number so you can ask her for more information if you're interested."

"Ha-neul—"

"You should seriously consider it. Being involved in something like that will be great for A.'s image."

"It definitely will," he told her firmly, "but that's not what I want to talk about right now."

Ha-neul had a feeling that he had come to have a serious talk with her. Playing basketball with the kids had held that off for a while, but now he was clearly through playing games. "Then... I suppose you want to talk about why you sent me that song," she guessed, forcing herself to look into his eyes.

"You know why."

She had to remind herself to breathe. "I think I have an idea, but I need to hear it from you."

Suddenly, it started to rain, big fat droplets that soon elevated into a downpour. Ha-neul grabbed her bag and they both jumped to their feet. Together, they ran past the kids and nannies hurrying home and sought refuge under a large shade tree. "Let's hope this doesn't go on for too long," Shin-woo remarked, shaking the raindrops from his hair.

She danced aside to avoid the spray. "I don't think it matters; I'm practically soaked."

A lock of her hair had stuck to her cheek during the run and he reached up to smooth it off her face. "We were talking about why I sent you that song," he reminded her softly.

She stood very still as his fingertips traveled over her skin, waiting, wide-eyed, for what was going to happen next. "And," she managed to say, "you sent it because...?"

"I love you."

For a moment, she feared that she had heard wrong, but his achingly tender smile said otherwise. "I... I was hoping that was why."

He arched an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Meaning..." She smiled back shyly. "I love you, too."

Later on, they would disagree on who had initiated their first kiss, because the kiss at Jeremy's birthday party definitely counted. However, they would always be sure about who was responsible for the second one, because this time Shin-woo cradled her face in his hands and leaned over to close the distance that he had kept between them for far too long.

Ha-neul threw her arms around him and kissed him back joyfully. This was more than just her earliest dreams of first love coming true. She had harbored a little crush on Kang Shin-woo back in elementary school, but she was even more in love with the man that he had become.

A sudden crash of thunder brought them back to earth. They looked at each other and laughed, heedless of the rain that dripped steadily down through the branches overhead. "Are you sure about what you just did?" Shin-woo couldn't help asking.

She smoothed his hair off his forehead. "I was absolutely sure about it the first time," she told him, leaning over to kiss him again, lightly, "and I'm even more sure now."

"The first time?" he repeated. Shin-woo looked at her blankly for a moment, then arched an eyebrow as a realization hit him. "You knew what you were doing that night, didn't you?"

Ha-neul grinned, but didn't answer. Instead, she said, "Come, let's go to my house so we can dry off and have some hot tea. Appa must be wondering what happened to us."

"Ha-neul...!" he said, but she had already picked up her bag and started for home. He heard her giggle, felt a broad grin break out over his face.

It was a cold, wet, and thoroughly miserable walk back to the Sos' house, but neither of them noticed.


	16. The Real Thing

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're_ _Beautiful_, and _InStyle _magazine to its publishers.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to alex, KAZU (dot) BOU and Comet Wong for reviewing! :) And thanks to everyone who has followed this story from the beginning - there's just a little more to go before the "end," AKA the waiting period until the sequel...

_

* * *

Chapter Sixteen — The Real Thing (Gwen Stefani)_

Shin-woo whistled cheerfully as he played an experimental tune on the piano. He was on top of the world: everything was resolved (and in a most satisfactory manner) between him and Ha-neul, neither of them had caught colds despite getting soaked in the rain the other day, and he was expanding his musical horizons.

Of course, his bandmates had yet to accept any of his new compositions, but he believed that would change if he kept trying and improving his craft. He wasn't going to worry about that tonight, though. The song Shin-woo was currently working on wasn't for AN JELL, but for the sports campaign that Ha-neul had told him about.

What he was trying to do was to put into song the things she had said about the way she felt when she played basketball, and how she wanted others to feel that joy, too. He had seen for himself the change that came over Ha-neul when she stepped onto the hardcourt. It was obvious from the glow that lit up her face, from her every move when she had a basketball in her hands, that she loved it. Shin-woo hoped that he could write a song that painted that picture in people's minds.

Presently, he heard a shuffling noise and Tae-kyung's head appeared in the doorway. "Shin-woo?"

He looked up from the piano keyboard and gave his bandmate a nod in greeting. "Hey, Tae-kyung."

"I was wondering who might be down here at this time of night." The vocalist entered the music room, looking like a lanky, giant bat in his billowing black bathrobe. "Are you writing a song?"

"Yes, but it's not for AN JELL. The children's foundation is putting together a campaign to get kids into sports, and Ha-neul suggested that I try writing a song for it."

"Sounds interesting."

"If the foundation likes it, maybe we could record it as a band," Shin-woo suggested. Even though he had done solo projects in the past and now wanted to try doing things his own way, ultimately he still saw himself as part of a team. A family. "Getting involved in something like that will be good for AN JELL's image."

"Play it for us when you have something and we'll talk about it." Tae-kyung paused and gave him a dubious look. "It's not going to be another hard rock song, is it?"

The guitarist chuckled. "No. The campaign is for kids, so I want to write something that they might enjoy hearing."

"Good. Not that there's anything wrong with that style," he added quickly. "After all, I can appreciate it, too. It's just... good that you're considering your audience."

"I'm glad you think so."

"How are your other songs coming along? Will you be releasing a solo single like President Ahn said?"

Shin-woo smiled and shook his head. "I've thought about it, and I decided that I'm not going to rework my songs to fit AN JELL's image, or even my image as a member of AN JELL."

Even if it meant getting some recognition as an individual, changing his songs just didn't feel right. Ha-neul had liked "Feels Like Heaven" in its original form, just as she loved him the way he was. For now, that was more than enough for him.

"If President Ahn will let me," he continued, "I want to record them the way I intended them to sound, and release them under an alias. That way, I'll know what the public thinks before I put my name to anything." He chuckled. "The world might not yet be ready for Kang Shin-woo, god of rock."

Tae-kyung laughed at that, too. "God of rock..." he muttered, shaking his head.

"Honestly, I don't know if I'm completely ready for that myself," he went on. "But I'm having a lot of fun trying out a different style of music, and I want to keep doing it."

"I can respect that," the vocalist said with a small smile. "So... you and Ha-neul are on good terms again? I'm glad," he said when Shin-woo nodded happily. "Maybe the next time I see her, she won't look at me like she wants to kill me."

"When did she ever do that?"

"The entire time we were filming this last video." The vocalist's brows drew together in a perplexed frown. "I don't even know what I did wrong."

Shin-woo grinned. "If you're nice to me, you'll never have to worry about that again."

* * *

Just as she had said, Ha-neul went back to work soon after Shin-woo's visit. Shooting her first post-collapse assignment — a fashion spread for _InStyle_ magazine — felt a lot like playing basketball for the first time after being sidelined with an injury: although the surroundings were familiar enough, she was conscious that something about her had changed. In time, she would ease back into the old routines, but before that happened, she was going to feel alien and vulnerable.

However, getting through that first assignment, like getting through that first game, helped boost her confidence. They were reminders that the things that had happened to her were only temporary, and that she was strong enough to come back from them.

It also helped that Shin-woo called to check up on her the night after her first photo shoot. "How was your comeback assignment?" he asked when she came on the line.

She smiled and hugged a pillow to her chest. "It went well. Everyone was very nice, welcoming me back and asking how I was doing."

"You didn't get tired at all?"

"I felt fine," she reassured him. "Director Ohm was careful to pace the session — I think he was scared that I would collapse again." Ha-neul chuckled. "It was kind of sweet how they were going through all this effort for me. I'm not anyone special."

"That's not true."

She looked down and traced the design on the pillowcase with a finger. "Well... thank you."

"How is your schedule for the rest of the week?" Shin-woo asked her then.

"I have another shoot and a meeting tomorrow, and a taping on Friday, but I'm off the rest of the week and the weekend. Why?"

"Nothing, I was just making sure that you weren't working too hard, especially since you've just started working again."

"Oh..." Ha-neul said, sounding disappointed. "I thought you were planning to come back to Seoul early and surprising me with a visit on one of my days off."

He laughed. "I wish I were, but we're definitely going to Daejeon in a few days, and we're going to be there until the weekend."

"It's too that you suddenly became busy just when my schedule got lighter, but I know that neither of us can do anything about it." She was trying not to complain, aware that this was the drawback to having a popular musician boyfriend, but it was still frustrating especially since they had just got together. "After all, we both have to work."

"Maybe, next time, it will be your turn to travel and I'll be the one waiting in Seoul."

"It would only be fair," she replied, laughing.

"Or maybe we can do another project together. We'll definitely get to spend time with each other then."

"That would be great. If it's a modeling assignment," she joked, "I can teach you how to walk properly down a runway."

He laughed, and then Ha-neul heard Jeremy's voice in the background. "I'm afraid I have to go," Shin-woo told her apologetically. "Manager Ma wants a meeting."

"At this time of night?" she exclaimed. "Haven't you done enough work today? If he's not careful, one of you is going to get sick and let me tell you, it's not fun at all."

"Relax, it's not a big deal. He's just going to give us instructions about our schedule tomorrow, and then send us off to bed."

"Oh. Well, if it's just that..." she grumbled.

"Yeah, I promise, it's just that." He chuckled. "You're cute when you're being fussy and overprotective."

Ha-neul blushed, but couldn't help teasing back, "_I'm_ fussy and overprotective? _You_ called me to check if I felt tired at all during my first assignment back, and ask about my schedule this week!" She smiled. "All of which I think is really cute, too."

Before Shin-woo could respond, there was another voice on his end of the line, sounding more insistent this time. "I really have to go now," he said. "I'll call again tomorrow night, OK? I miss you."

"I miss you, too," she replied, hugging her pillow tightly and tucking it under her chin. "I can't wait to see you again."

* * *

It was almost a month before Ha-neul got the chance to see Shin-woo in person again, at an AN JELL fanmeeting at the Dome Art Hall. He and Jeremy had sent tickets to her and Su-jin to make sure that they could come. The boys weren't sure if they would be able to do anything together after the event, but at the very least, they would all be in the same place at the same time, even for just a little while.

Just like before, Su-jin came to Ha-neul's house before the event to hitch a ride and offer some fashion advice. "You're wearing _that_?" she exclaimed as she walked into her friend's bedroom.

Ha-neul frowned in the middle of putting on a pair of dangling silver earrings shaped like angel wings. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"You look like an elementary schooler!" the smaller girl replied, putting her hands on her hips.

She laughed. "Is that better than looking like a boy?"

"Just barely, and it's only because you're wearing pink!"

"It's just a fanmeeting, Su-jin, not the Philharmonic. Besides, the weather forecast said that it's going to be cold today."

"Still," the smaller girl insisted, "don't you want to dress up a little bit?"

"What for?" Ha-neul grinned as she rummaged in her makeup bag for some lip gloss. "I already got the guy!"

"Hmm... that's true," Su-jin averred, an answering grin spreading across her round face, and sat down on the bed. "Oh, Ha-neul, I'm so glad everything worked out between you two."

"I am, too," she admitted, blushing. "I really like him."

"Well, it's obvious that Shin-woo feels the same way about you. After all, he wrote you that awesome song."

"Jeremy likes you, too," Ha-neul pointed out. "Shin-woo and I can barely have a conversation without him asking Shin-woo to ask me to tell you that he says hello. And he calls you himself, too, right?"

"He does it to make sure that you passed along his message," Su-jin said, rolling her eyes and trying (but not quite succeeding) to suppress a smile.

"He also sends you presents, like that big basket of flowers at your office last week," she added. This time, her friend made no effort to hide her smile, an encouraging sign. "So you should put him out of his misery and become his girlfriend again!"

Su-jin shook her head. "It probably seems harsh to you, but things were... complicated between us. I want to be sure about his feelings for me, and mine about him, before committing again. If I decide to do that."

Ha-neul nodded to show that she understood, although she didn't at all. "Well, I hope everything gets settled between the two of you, and soon — preferably before he goes broke buying you all those gifts," she added dryly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that he's being so generous to you; but you know I'm a business manager's daughter. Crazy spending scares me."

"I'll tell him to cool it," the smaller girl promised. "I don't want him thinking that he can simply buy my affections, anyway."

"Maybe he'll start writing songs for you instead."

"Omo, I hope not. If Jeremy wrote a song for me, it'll probably be totally random and mention bananas and arguing and weird stuff like that." Su-jin wrinkled her nose and got to her feet, picking up her purse. "We should probably get going. We don't want to get stuck in traffic and miss anything."

* * *

The AN JELL fanmeeting kicked off with a live performance of "Can't Wait," after which the band welcomed their fans to the event and plugged a couple of their upcoming projects and appearances. This was followed by a hilarious question-and-answer portion emceed by a special guest star, with Jeremy of course taking the prize for the most nonsensical answers.

"They sure look like they're having fun," Su-jin remarked, smiling as she watched the boys joke with each other onstage.

Mi-nyeo nodded, smiling as well. The girls had bumped into her on their way inside, and naturally invited her to sit with them. "It's nice to see them like this. They're so busy working that they hardly ever have time to just enjoy themselves."

"I imagine it takes a lot of hard work to stay on top," Ha-neul said.

"It does," Mi-nyeo confirmed. "At least... that's what my brother tells me."

There were also production numbers by other acts managed by AN Entertainment, more guest appearances by various celebrities, and raffle drawings, where fans were given the chance to win prizes and have their pictures taken with the band and whoever else was onstage at the time.

"I know that girl!" Ha-neul exclaimed as a slender girl ran onstage, practically crying with joy, when her name was drawn during one raffle.

"Yes," Mi-nyeo said. "She camps out outside the agency offices all the time. I think her name is Sayuri."

"I think she said that she heads the AN JELL fan club, or something. Honestly," the tall girl added, lowering her voice, "she scares me a little."

"Me, too."

Still, they couldn't help smiling as they watched Sayuri accept her prize with breathless delight. In her excitement, she just managed to present AN JELL with a large banner on behalf of the fan club, and could barely stand still to have her picture taken with the band. It seemed that her devotion had finally paid off.

* * *

Besides several lucky fans, one more person received a surprise that night. "We have something special for all of you tonight," Tae-kyung announced towards the end of the fanmeeting, as the stage was cleared and musical instruments brought out. "AN JELL will be performing for you again in a little while, but before we do... Kang Shin-woo, could you come out here, please?"

Ha-neul was sure she looked as perplexed as Shin-woo did when he emerged from the wings to join his bandmate onstage. She watched him say something to Tae-kyung, but it was out of range of the microphones so she couldn't hear what it was.

"What's going on?" Su-jin wondered.

"I have no idea," she replied.

Fortunately, Tae-kyung didn't keep everyone in suspense for long. "Shin-woo here has been busy working on a secret project this past month," he announced as a stagehand brought Shin-woo his guitar. "He's written a song for a very good cause, and if you clap loud enough, maybe we can convince him to sing it for us."

Ha-neul squealed, startling Su-jin and Mi-nyeo, and started to clap excitedly. "He wrote a song for the children's foundation," she explained hastily, "and it looks like Tae-kyung is going to let him play it tonight!"

"Of course he'll let him play his song," Mi-nyeo said. "Why wouldn't he?"

Fortunately, Ha-neul was too preoccupied with rummaging around in her bag to pursue that discussion. "I have to get this on video!"

She located her cell phone in time to capture the beginning of Shin-woo's speech. "Um... hello, everyone," he began as his grinning bandmates took their familiar places alongside him onstage. He caught Ha-neul's eye and smiled nervously before continuing. "As Tae-kyung said, this is a song I wrote for the Pan Chung-ae Memorial Children's Foundation, a group that's organizing a campaign to encourage young people to get into sports. I'm going to submit this song to them, and hopefully they'll like it and use it for their campaign." He gave the audience a bashful grin. "I hope you enjoy it."

* * *

Shin-woo supposed that he must have done a pretty good job with the song, because the first thing Ha-neul did when she saw him backstage was to throw her arms around his neck and exclaim, "I'm so proud of you!"

Laughing, he steadied her with an arm around her waist and just managed to keep them both from toppling over. "I hope this means you liked the song."

"It was amazing! And I got it all on video."

He smiled. "Yeah, I saw you holding that cell phone."

"This was a major accomplishment. Don't you want to remember it forever?" Ha-neul gave him an impish grin. "Besides, I had to do it. I sent the video to my teammate after the show. Once she sees how much people like it, I bet the foundation will choose your song for sure."

"The important thing is we get a fair chance," Shin-woo said modestly.

"What are you talking about? They'll be silly not to choose it. Your song was good!" Ha-neul loosened her hold around his neck only slightly so that she could turn and look over her shoulder at the only other person in the dressing room, who was surveying the scene with mild interest. "It was good, wasn't it, Tae-kyung?"

"It was very good," he agreed with a nod.

Shin-woo could tell that the vocalist meant it and shot him a pleased grin. Ha-neul smiled at Tae-kyung, too. "I'm glad you thought so," she said. "And I thought AN JELL played it very well."

"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Tae-kyung sent the pair a sly glance. "I think I'll leave you to congratulate him in private."

Shin-woo and Ha-neul smiled at each other when the fifth wheel was gone. "I can't believe you're here," he murmured.

"I can go into the next room and call you on the phone if that would make you more comfortable," she offered innocently.

He chuckled and tightened his hold on her waist, drawing her closer to him. "That won't be necessary."

His lips had just barely brushed hers when they heard President Ahn's voice calling Shin-woo's name just outside. They sprang apart just a moment before he entered the dressing room with Manager Ma in tow. "Shin-woo, I—" The older man stopped short when he saw that the guitarist wasn't alone. "Ha-neul!"

"Hi, Uncle!" she greeted him brightly. "Congratulations on a great show! The fans really enjoyed it."

"Thank you," he replied, looking befuddled by her presence. "Ah... Shin-woo, I just wanted to ask you about that song for the children's foundation."

Shin-woo nodded eagerly. "They're putting together a campaign to encourage kids to play sports, and they needed a theme song. Actually," he added, "Ha-neul was the one who told me about the opportunity! That's, uh, why she's here."

"That's right, it was me!" she chirped. "One of my Beijing teammates, Rhee Kyung-soon, works for the foundation and I'm also thinking of getting involved. When she mentioned that the campaign needed a song, of course I thought of AN JELL right away."

"Of course," President Ahn echoed. Shin-woo didn't like the slightly skeptical note in his voice.

"I can give you her number if you'd like," Ha-neul suggested. "Just to assure you that it's a legitimate operation and everything."

"No, no, I'm sure it's perfectly above-board. But giving me her number is a good idea," he added. "I _will_ need to coordinate with the foundation if AN JELL gets involved in the campaign."

"I'll send it to you right away." Indeed, she pulled out her cell phone to do just that.

"Was there anything else you needed to know, President Ahn?" Shin-woo asked pleasantly.

"I think that's all for now," the older man answered slowly. "I need to go settle things with the venue management. Hoon-yi, you come with me. Shin-woo, will you be able to keep Ha-neul company?"

He nodded. "Of course, sir."

Over the years, the band had been able to fool their manager about a lot of things, including leading him to think that the real Go Mi-nam had been part of AN JELL from the very beginning. However, this time, there was a small, knowing smile on President Ahn's face — and a suspicious one on Manager Ma's — when the pair left the room.

"I don't think Manager Ma likes me," Ha-neul remarked when they were alone again.

"He's just scared you're going to elbow me again," Shin-woo teased. He took her hand and pulled her to him again. "Now, where were we...?"

Unfortunately, they were foiled again in their second attempt at a kiss, this time by Jeremy, who burst into the dressing room dragging Su-jin with him and calling Ha-neul's name. They had to step away from each other again, but at least Shin-woo was able to keep his hold on Ha-neul's hand.

Mi-nam, Mi-nyeo and Tae-kyung followed, looking intrigued. "Did I give you two enough time alone?" the vocalist asked Shin-woo as he closed the door.

The guitarist didn't reply and addressed Jeremy instead. "This had better be important, Jeremy."

"I guess I didn't," Tae-kyung murmured. He caught Mi-nyeo looking up at him in confusion, then leaned down to whisper something in her ear. As he spoke, she looked surprised, and then pleased.

"It's very important, hyung," the blond boy said. "I need to say something to Ha-neul."

"Me?" Ha-neul frowned, puzzled, and looked to Su-jin for clues, but the other girl just gestured for them to keep going. "What is it?"

Jeremy, too, looked at Su-jin before turning back to Ha-neul. "I-I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," he said earnestly. "For being so mean to you and not believing you about, you know, that whole Kim Byung-hyeon thing. I was wrong," he added. "I hope that you'll forgive me and we can be friends again."

She was silent for a moment before nodding. "OK, I forgive you. You _were_ really mean," she added, "and next time you should give a person a chance to tell her side of the story. But I know you were just trying to protect Shin-woo."

"I was!" He beamed. "I'm so glad everything's OK again. Can I have a hug? How about a handshake?" he amended quickly when Shin-woo glared at him playfully.

"A handshake is fine," Ha-neul said, grinning at Shin-woo and taking the hand that Jeremy offered.

They shook hands, but Jeremy couldn't resist giving her a final warning. "I still meant what I said, though: if you break Shin-woo hyung's heart, you're dead!"

"Jeremy!" Shin-woo and Su-jin admonished in unison.

Ha-neul, however, was unfazed. "I promise you that that's not in my plans," she replied, before leveling him with her version of Mr. So's hardcourt death glare. "On the other hand, if you ever hurt Su-jin, _you're_ dead."

"You had better treat your girlfriend right, Jeremy," Mi-nam laughed. "Ha-neul is bigger than you."

"I'm not his girlfriend yet," Su-jin announced.

Jeremy's gaze swiveled from Ha-neul to her friend. "What are you talking about? Didn't you say that if I apologized to Ha-neul, you would be my girlfriend again? Not that I didn't want to make things all right with you myself," he added quickly to Ha-neul, who smiled and waved him off, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

"I said I'd think about it!" Su-jin reminded him.

He scowled at her. "Why are girls so difficult?"

"Just because I was already your girlfriend once before doesn't mean I don't deserve to be courted again!"

Shaking his head, Shin-woo tuned out the bickering pair and turned back to the girl at his side. He squeezed her hand to get her attention and, when Ha-neul turned towards him, leaned over and whispered, "I don't think we're going to get much of a chance to be alone if we stick around here."

She giggled. "Do you want to see if there's a nice, quiet closet around somewhere?"

"Let's go."


	17. Epilogue: Sweet Holiday

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're_ _Beautiful_. The Invisibility Cloak as I imagined it belongs to JK Rowling, and Korean Air to its stockholders. I only own Ha-neul, and Shin-woo's brother.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to alex and KAZU (dot) BOU for reviewing! :) And thanks to everyone who has followed this story from the beginning. This was the first real, multi-chapter fic I've written in a long time. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it, and that you stay tuned for everything that comes next... ;)

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* * *

Epilogue — Sweet Holiday (CN Blue)_

They had agreed to keep their relationship a secret, so they couldn't arrive at the airport together.

"I don't see why not," Tae-kyung remarked on the drive to the airport. "Thousands of people come and go through the airport everyday. No one really cares who shows up with whom."

"The paparazzi who hang around the airport do," Shin-woo reminded him. "And so would anyone who might recognize me or Ha-neul."

"Why do you have to hide it, anyway? You're both adults and you're not doing anything wrong. There wasn't much of a backlash when Mi-nyeo and I went public with our relationship," the vocalist recalled.

"Yes, it would be easier for Ha-neul and me if people knew about our relationship; but unlike Mi-nyeo, Ha-neul is a public figure, too. Anti-fans might spread rumors or say mean things out of spite. I don't want her career damaged because of me."

Tae-kyung pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Hmm... you have a point."

"I think that someday, we'll make our relationship known, too; but for now, we're happy with having just our families and closest friends know the truth."

That was actually the reason why Shin-woo was on his way to the airport — he and Ha-neul were going to Busan to visit his family. He had high hopes that this visit would go better than last year's. For one thing, he was going there to bring good news, rather than explain something shocking that had come out in the newspapers. For another, he had a real girl to bring home this time.

_If she shows up,_ said a little voice inside of him.

_Shut up._

"I just hope my brothers don't blab." Shin-woo was sure that his parents and older sister would know well enough to stay quiet, but his two younger brothers were another story. Shin-il, the youngest, was notoriously bad at keeping secrets.

"They won't," Tae-kyung assured him. "They idolize you."

"Thanks. I hope so." He chuckled just as his cell phone chimed, announcing that he had a text message. "Ha-neul is on her way to the airport," he announced after reading it.

"That's good. I hope she makes it. _What?_" the vocalist asked defensively when his bandmate gave him a look. "I just meant that there's not much time before your flight and I don't want Ha-neul to be late. You don't have to worry about me intercepting her on the way to the gate — I'm already giving you a ride to the airport so that you can watch my every move, remember? Besides, she's not my type."

"You're not her type, either," Shin-woo retorted good-naturedly, but his smile faded as they arrived at the departure area and trepidation set back in.

Tae-kyung pulled into an unloading spot and unlocked the doors. "She'll be there," he said. "She said she was coming, wasn't she?"

"Yes, she did." He forced himself to take a deep breath and got out of the car to retrieve his luggage. "Thanks for the ride."

The two young men smiled at each other as they shook hands. "You're welcome," Tae-kyung replied. "Have a good trip, and see you in a few days. No," he amended quickly, " make that a week — I'm leaving for Gwangju before you come back."

Shin-woo laughed briefly. He didn't have his schedule memorized, but he knew that he also faced a similarly packed schedule when he returned from Busan. "I'll see you whenever, then."

* * *

Tae-kyung had been absolutely certain that Ha-neul would be at the airport, but Shin-woo didn't see her when he checked in, or when he went through airport security. He even spent some time hanging out at a coffee shop with a good view of the screening area so he could catch her on her way in, but he didn't see her at all.

A sick feeling was starting to settle in his stomach, but Shin-woo willed himself to relax. There had to be a perfectly good reason why he hadn't seen a trace of her yet. Perhaps she had run into some traffic, or was hung up at the check-in desk with a mountain of luggage. (He was even willing to consider an Invisibility Cloak, but in that case, wouldn't she have let him know that she was nearby?)

However, when the PA system announced that Korean Air Flight 1111 from Seoul to Busan was now boarding, Shin-woo knew that he definitely had to check up on her.

His hand trembled only slightly as he typed out a text message for her: _I'm at the airport. Where are you?_

Shin-woo was just about to hit "Send" when his cell phone started ringing, causing him to almost drop it into his teacup. When he saw that it was Ha-neul calling, he hastened to answer. "Hello? Where are you? Are you at the airport already?"

"I'm already on the _plane_!" Ha-neul replied. While he had fought to keep his voice even, she sounded panicked. "Where are _you_?"

He laughed, relief flooding through him, and jumped to his feet. "I'll be right there."

* * *

Sure enough, Ha-neul was already in her seat when Shin-woo boarded the airplane. She slumped back, immensely relieved, at the sight of him. "I thought you weren't coming!" she whispered as he sat down.

"I thought _you_ weren't coming," he answered in an equally low voice while he fastened his seat belt. "I got your text message right before I arrived at the airport and I thought I'd meet you on your way in, but you never showed up."

Just then, the flight attendants started making their way down the aisles, conducting the pre-flight checkup and forcing them to cut their conversation short. Shin-woo busied himself with turning off his cell phone and stole a glance at Ha-neul, who was pretending to be absorbed in reading a fashion magazine. She caught him looking at her and they exchanged conspiratorial grins.

"I sent that text two hours ago," she told him when the stewardess was gone and the pilot instructed the crew to prepare for takeoff.

"I guess it was delayed."

Ha-neul nodded. "I was at the gate long before boarding time," she admitted a little sheepishly. "Appa was laughing at me for wanting to be so early."

Shin-woo grinned and took her hand. Beneath his feet, he felt the plane gather speed as it taxied down the runway. "Well, I really appreciate it," he told her. "And we're both here now, where we're supposed to be."

"Yes, and thank goodness for that. If you had left me to face your parents all by myself, you would have been in serious trouble."

He turned to look at her and saw that she was, of course, just teasing him. "You're evil."

Ha-neul giggled. "I know."

He squeezed her hand as the plane took off, and together they soared into the endless sky.

THE END


	18. Outtake: Can't Fight This Feeling

**Disclaimer:** The AN JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of _You're_ _Beautiful_, and Frankenstein's Monster to Mary Shelley.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to alex, Buru-beri-chan, anonymous and KAZU (dot) BOU for reviewing! :) This is the last bit related to _This Above All_, I swear, LOL! Hopefully I can start posting the sequel next week.

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* * *

Outtake — Can't Fight This Feeling (REO Speedwagon)_

"What are we doing here, hyung?" Jeremy asked grumpily.

"President Ahn told us to come," Shin-woo told him.

The boys were sitting with their bandmates on the set, in the park where that day's segment was to be shot. It was rather early in the morning (hence Jeremy's bad mood), on the last day before shooting was temporarily put on hold so that Tae-kyung could attend to some prior commitments. As far as everyone knew, only he and Ha-neul were needed today, but the night before, Manager Ma had told the rest of the band that they had to be there, too.

"Director Han has an idea for a different ending for the video," President Ahn announced as he walked up to his boys. "I thought we could all hear it together, so that it would be easier to decide whether or not to use it."

"Did he say anything about what his idea might be?" Tae-kyung asked.

"Maybe the video will confirm that Ha-neul's character died by having a segment of her as a zombie," Mi-nam joked.

Their manager shook his head. "He just said it would make the story more interesting, and the climax more dramatic."

Just then, they heard a door behind them open, and the sound of footsteps. President Ahn smiled. "Ah, Ha-neul! How nice to see you! You look very pretty today."

Shin-woo looked up to see her walk away from the production trailers and approach them. He had to admit that she was indeed very pretty in the pale pink dress that was her costume for the segment. The only jarring note to the romantic look was the sneakers she wore on her feet; the silver shoes that matched her outfit dangled from her hand.

Ha-neul addressed the older man warmly. "Good morning, Uncle, and thank you. It's nice to see you, too." She turned to AN JELL and gave them a polite nod. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Shin-woo replied. His bandmates likewise returned her greeting with varying degrees of warmth. His eyes locked with hers for the briefest of moments, before President Ahn spoke again, requiring her to turn her attention back to him.

The AN JELL manager asked after her father, teased her about her choice of footwear and told her about Director Han's proposal for a different ending to the video. Ha-neul smiled, answered his questions and obligingly endured the teasing. She did not say anything to the band until she excused herself to leave.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shin-woo watched her make her way across the grass towards where the director stood. Despite her height, she looked very small and alone; he knew that she had been having a difficult time during the shooting. He also knew that he had to have a serious talk with her (and with Jeremy, who was being particularly unpleasant to her) sometime.

* * *

When Director Han saw her coming, he spoke through his megaphone to get everyone's attention. "President Ahn, AN JELL, could you join us here, please? I think it's time to have our meeting."

Ha-neul made sure she was standing between Stylist Wang and one of the production assistants when the rest of the group walked over. She wasn't avoiding AN JELL, exactly; she just didn't want to be near them. "All right, Director Han," said President Ahn, "let's hear this idea."

The director was almost bouncing with excitement. "Well..." he replied, pausing for effect, "I was just thinking what if... Tae-kyung's character lost his girl because Ha-neul's character left him for Shin-woo's?"

Silence slammed down upon them and Ha-neul's heart stood still. "C-could you say that again?" she managed to say, studiously keeping her eyes averted from the band.

"I think that your character, Ha-neul, should run off with Shin-woo's!" Director Han repeated enthusiastically. "It would be an _amazing_ twist to the story told by the video, don't you think?"

"_I_ think it's a great idea, Director Han," Tae-kyung answered. "I say we do it."

Ha-neul looked at him incredulously. Had he lost his mind? It didn't look like it, but some lunatics looked perfectly normal even when they did something really strange, right?

She hazarded a glance at Shin-woo, who looked just as stunned as she was. "But..." he ventured, "do we have time to shoot a new storyline?"

"Oh, it fits right in with our schedule," the director assured him. "There's existing footage that we can use and we don't even have to change what we're doing today. We have a few more days after Tae-kyung becomes available again, and we can shoot the extra scenes then."

"And..." Ha-neul spoke up as another idea came to her, "will the fans like that ending? It's definitely a surprise, but AN JELL is a team." She gestured vaguely in their direction. "The fans might not like a story that pits one member against another."

"It's dramatic and will show off all of your acting skills! Wouldn't you like that?"

"Director Han has a point," President Ahn said thoughtfully. "AN JELL has had some invitations to appear in dramas. The right project hasn't come along yet, but when it does, we should be ready."

"Then let's do it," Tae-kyung repeated, which earned him a pleased smile and a clap on the shoulder from his manager.

"That's the spirit!" the older man exclaimed, and addressed the rest of the cast. "See that? You should all follow Tae-kyung's example — no matter how challenging it may be, he's willing to try!"

* * *

For his part, Jeremy stewed visibly over the decision to adopt Director Han's suggested ending for the video, but knew well enough not to say anything in front of the director or President Ahn. He waited until AN JELL was at home and in private before speaking freely.

"You can't let them do this, hyung!" he burst out as the boys sat together, drinking beer after dinner. Sensing her master's agitation, Jolie started to bark.

"Why not?" Unruffled, Tae-kyung tossed the dog a rice cracker to distract her. "Ha-neul is not my real girlfriend. It's all make-believe. Besides," he added piously, "I really do think that it would be an interesting twist to the story of the video."

"Yeah, but..." The blond boy jerked his head frantically in Shin-woo's direction. The guitarist hid behind his own beer and pretended that he hadn't heard or seen anything.

"Yeah, but... what?"

"I think Jeremy has a muscle spasm," Mi-nam observed, peering at him with poorly disguised amusement.

"I do not!" the drummer burst out. "Do you really want Shin-woo hyung to work so closely with that girl, after what she did to him?"

"And what _did_ she do to him?"

"She broke his heart!"

"Hey!" Shin-woo blurted out, unable to keep himself out of the discussion any longer. "Could you stop talking about me as if I wasn't here?"

"That's a good idea," Tae-kyung agreed, turning to him. "Let's all talk about you now. Does Ha-neul know that she broke your heart?"

He felt his face turn red and hoped that the others would blame it on the alcohol. "I didn't say anything about her breaking my heart."

"Oh, please. You've barely spoken to her since you saw that picture of her and Frankenstein's monster."

Mi-nam laughed. "Are you trying to tell us that you're mad at Ha-neul because you like that dude and she stole him from you?" he asked, tossing Jolie a rice cracker, too.

"No!" Shin-woo scoffed. No matter what the fanfic authors wrote, he definitely didn't like guys that way; if he did, he would probably go for ones that were better-looking than Kim Byung-hyeon. "But she didn't break my heart, either. It's... complicated."

"Whatever," the vocalist said skeptically. "Even if she didn't break your heart, it's obvious that you used to be friends, but now you're not speaking, and it's making Ha-neul sad."

He looked up. "How do you know that?"

"I'm the one who's had to look at her face all throughout the making of this video," Tae-kyung told him. "Look, I'm not making excuses for her if she did something wrong. If she did, then she should definitely apologize to you, but you have to give her a chance to do that."

"Shin-woo hyung doesn't need to put up with that kind of aggravation!" Jeremy insisted.

"No, Tae-kyung is right," Shin-woo said after a few moments' thought. "Ha-neul and I really need to talk. About a lot of things." He wasn't looking forward to it, but he knew that it was necessary and that hopefully they would feel better after all was said and done.

"That's another reason why I agreed to Director Han's suggestion," Tae-kyung said. "To give you two a chance to talk." He arched an eyebrow. "And may I just say that it's funny how once upon a time, you were all telling me to put aside my pride and go after what was important to me."

"I didn't—"

"Now, barely one year later," the vocalist barreled on, as though Shin-woo hadn't said anything, "you can't take your own advice."

_"Fine,"_ Jeremy huffed, folding his arms stubbornly. "But I'm keeping a close eye on Ha-neul to make sure she never hurts Shin-woo hyung again!"

"And _I'm_ going to sit back and enjoy the fireworks," Mi-nam said.

Smirking, Tae-kyung clinked his beer bottle against Mi-nam's. "I'm with you there... brother-in-law."

* * *

At the same time that AN JELL was deliberating on the matter, Ha-neul and Su-jin were discussing the same thing in a Red Mango in downtown Seoul. "You're kidding!" Su-jin hissed as she and Ha-neul sat down in a quiet table in the back. "How in the world did the director come up with that idea?"

"I don't know." The other girl shrugged. "It's like it just came to him in a dream."

"Or he read your mind," her friend added.

"I never thought about ending the video like that!" Ha-neul replied, blushing and hiding behind a spoonful of yogurt. She had once imagined being paired with him, but never in the way that Director Han had suggested.

"No, but I'm sure you were hoping that you'd get a chance to explain things to Shin-woo. Well, this is it, right?"

"I guess."

"What do you mean, _you guess_?" Su-jin demanded, just managing to remember to keep her voice down. "Do you like him or don't you?"

"I do," she sighed, "but honestly, I'm getting tired of it. He's being really stupid and stubborn, and I can only bang my head against a wall for so long before it cracks."

"So if you're ever going to talk to him, it's to say goodbye?"

Ha-neul hesitated. "Most probably."

Su-jin fell silent at that. She didn't like that idea; not only because she thought Ha-neul really liked Shin-woo, but also because she wanted to prove Jeremy wrong. However, given her own situation with Shin-woo's equally stubborn bandmate, she wasn't in any position to talk her friend out of giving up.

Suddenly, Ha-neul's cell phone chimed, letting her know that she had received a text message. She took it out of her bag and glanced at the screen. "Speak of the devil," she said, her eyebrows rising. "It's Shin-woo."

"What does he want?"

"He wants to meet up."

_"Now?"_ Su-jin asked, preparing to rocket out of her chair. Although they had been planning this Red Mango date for ages, she was more than happy to let Ha-neul go to Shin-woo, especially if he wanted to tell her that he liked her and ask that she give him a chance.

"No, not now." She looked at the message again. "He's asking if tomorrow is OK."

"It is, isn't it?"

"I have a photo shoot tomorrow afternoon, but I guess I can meet him for a while," Ha-neul said, already beginning to type out a reply. "I might as well get this over with."

* * *

She couldn't help dressing up a little for her meeting with Shin-woo — after all, she had to look nice for her photo shoot, didn't she? She was also going to participate in another of Nang Eun-hee's fashion shows in a few months, so she naturally had to practice her runway walk. She wasn't doing any of this for him _at all_, Ha-neul told herself as she entered the quiet café. It was just a coincidence.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a little bit gratified at the look of surprise on his face when he saw her strutting towards his table. "Hi," Shin-woo greeted her.

"Hi," she answered politely, taking the only other chair and smoothing her skirt over her legs as she crossed them. She noted that a cup of tea sat in front of him. "I hope I'm not late."

"I got here early. You look very nice."

"Thank you." Ha-neul was glad that he seemed to want to be civil. If she had to say goodbye, then perhaps they could at least part on good terms — or, even better, stay friends.

"Would you like anything?" he asked her then, nodding towards the counter. "It's my treat."

"No, thank you. I'm afraid I can't stay very long because of my photo shoot later. What did you want to talk about?"

_Us,_ Shin-woo wanted to say, but instead he said, "I thought that we should talk about what Director Han wants us to do for the video."

Ha-neul nodded. "All right. What about it?"

He hesitated. "I was just checking if you were comfortable with it. You know, considering the way he wants the story to go."

"Oh." Was he imagining things, or did she just blush a little bit? "Well, it took me by surprise," she admitted. "I really wasn't expecting Director Han to propose such an idea."

"Me, too," Shin-woo said, nodding fervently. He _had_ thought that it would be nice to be paired with Ha-neul in the video, but never considered the possibility that his character would steal hers away.

"But I'm going to be professional and concentrate on following Director Han's instructions," Ha-neul went on. "I wouldn't want AN JELL's video to turn out badly because of me."

He smiled. "That's nice of you."

"It's as much for me as it is for you," she told him, laughing briefly. "I also don't want to be accused of not doing my job well."

"No one will ever say that about you," Shin-woo assured her. "I promise."

Ha-neul felt her face grow warm at his words and wished that she had taken him up on his offer to get something to eat or drink. At least then she would have been able to hide behind it. "Well... thank you," she said finally. "If we're both going to do what we're supposed to do to make your video a success, then I guess no one has anything to worry about." She paused. "Is that all you wanted to discuss?"

For a moment, she thought — _hoped_ — that he was going to say no, but eventually Shin-woo nodded. "Yeah, I think that's it." He gave her a small smile. "It would have been nice if you could stay a while, but you said you have a photo shoot."

"That's right, I do," she confirmed. "I suppose I'll see you when filming resumes, then. I'm glad we got to talk," she added, mustering a smile of her own.

"Me, too. Good luck on your photo shoot."

"Thanks."

Moving as slowly as she could without being obvious, just in case he changed his mind and decided that there was something else he wanted to talk about, Ha-neul gave him a small nod in farewell and rose to leave. When Shin-woo made no move to grab her hand or otherwise keep her from leaving, she turned and made her way to the door.

Shin-woo watched her leave. He knew that he should go after her, but told himself that they shouldn't be discussing personal matters in public, anyway. He was protecting her by not moving, he thought as he took a sip of his now-lukewarm tea and tried to ignore the emptiness in his heart.

_

* * *

"How did it go?"_ Su-jin demanded the moment Ha-neul called her after the photo shoot. Su-jin had made her promise to call the moment she was free. "What did he want to talk about?"

"What else?" Ha-neul sighed. "He just wanted to talk about the video and make sure I was comfortable with it so that I wouldn't mess things up."

"That was _it_?"

"That was it."

"Well, what did you say?"

She shrugged, even though Su-jin couldn't see her. "I promised that I would be professional, so there shouldn't be any worries there. It wasn't so bad," she added. "It's the friendliest conversation we've had in a while." It was, she thought, also the first conversation they had had in a while.

"You didn't say anything else?"

Ha-neul frowned. "Well, if _he_ wasn't going to say anything, I definitely wasn't going to."

Su-jin groaned. "You didn't even try to tell him how you felt?"

"No. I gave him plenty of chances to say something, though, but he didn't."

"You could have taken the lead. This is the twenty-first century, you know."

"I thought we agreed that he was too cowardly to grab me when he had the chance, and I was through with pining after him?"

"Well..." her friend said, "if you're really set on saying goodbye, you should make sure you've told him everything you want to say to him first. At least, that way you don't ask yourself 'what if,' right?

"That's the mistake I made with Jeremy, you know," Su-jin added quietly. "I spent too much time putting up a front that I never let him know how I really felt about him, and now it's too late."

"I don't know if I can make that first move," Ha-neul admitted, blushing. Technically, she _had_ made the first move with that kiss at Jeremy's birthday party, but perhaps that didn't really count — after all, she had pretended to be drunk, and she hadn't told Shin-woo outright that she liked him.

"Does it really matter who goes first if you like each other?"

"But we don't know if—"

"Shin-woo likes you," her friend declared. "I can tell. If you tell him how you feel, it might give you a chance at being together. On the other hand, if I'm wrong, then at least you get it completely out of your system and you can move on, right?"

There was a pregnant pause. "I guess you have a point," Ha-neul said finally. "I'll think about it, OK?"

* * *

She was still thinking about it even after Tae-kyung returned from his business trip and filming of the video resumed. That day, they were shooting extra "friendly outing" scenes with the rest of the band, which would help establish a budding romance between her character and Shin-woo's.

"Are you all right?" Tae-kyung asked Ha-neul, his brows drawing together in concern, as they sat together on set, waiting for Director Han to give them some final instructions.

She blushed and nodded. "I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind."

Just then, the director finished his discussion with the lighting crew and walked onto the set, where the cast was already in place. "All right, everyone; the scene will be generally the same as the original version that we shot, except that this time we will have Ha-neul writing a note to Shin-woo, confessing her true feelings.

"It doesn't have to be long — in fact, it doesn't even have to say anything," he told her. "Just some random scribbles on the napkin will do. The important thing is that you'll look nervous while you're doing it, because Tae-kyung will be right beside you and you don't want him to know what you're doing."

Ha-neul nodded, already looking nervous.

"Then, one of the others — is it Mi-nam? — will take the note to Shin-woo," Director Han continued. Initially, Jeremy was supposed to have been the one to help pass the note, but the drummer had had a small diva moment and asked that Mi-nam do it. "Shin-woo, after you read it, I want you to look surprised. You're going to have a long closeup, so make it good!"

"Yes, Director Han," Shin-woo answered.

"Does everyone get it?" the director asked the cast at large.

"Yes," they chorused.

"All right, then." Director Han took his seat behind the camera. "Lights, camera, action!"

Tae-kyung turned to Jeremy, who was seated on his left, and the two pretended to have a conversation. Ha-neul glanced furtively at her "boyfriend" before scribbling something on a cocktail napkin, folding it up, and passing it discreetly to Mi-nam, who was walking by. The AN JELL keyboardist took the note to Shin-woo, who was seated at the bar. He opened the napkin, glanced at what was written on it, and a look of shock spread over his face.

"Perfect!" Director Han exclaimed. "Can you read it and look shocked again, Shin-woo, so that we can get you from another angle?"

Shin-woo nodded numbly, feeling his face grow warm. He was sure that, even if he were asked to recreate that moment a million times, he would have been able to do it.

When the shot was set up and the director called "Action!" he looked at the note again, checking to see if he had read it correctly. He dutifully repeated looking surprised and, because he _had_ read Ha-neul's note correctly, couldn't help the small smile that touched his lips.

"Excellent!" Director Han bawled, happily pumping his fists in the air. "I like that little smile you added at the end! You're doing a very good job today, Shin-woo!"

* * *

"Someone was teacher's pet at the shooting today," Tae-kyung observed with mild amusement on the way to the recording studio that evening. "From the way Director Han was applauding every little thing you did, you could do no wrong, Shin-woo. What's your secret?"

Jeremy peered at the guitarist, who was sitting silently in his seat, staring out the window. "I think Shin-woo hyung is still in character. He's still smiling."

"He's been smiling ever since the filming," Mi-nam remarked, then stretched out a leg to nudge Shin-woo's chair. "Hey, Shin-woo hyung, what's the deal? Are you going crazy on us or something?"

"No," the guitarist said finally, turning away from the window to grin at his bandmates. He reached into his pocket and held out the napkin that had served as the "note" in the video. "Read this."

Instead of just scribbling randomly as Director Han suggested, Ha-neul had actually written something.

_I wasn't drunk when I kissed you._

* * *

Ha-neul didn't hear from Shin-woo at all after she passed him that note, and didn't see him again until the next (and last) day of filming, so she supposed that he didn't understand that it was real and not part of the video — although shouldn't the references to being drunk and kissing be enough of a clue? — or worse, he understood that it was real and didn't care.

At any rate, she had done what Su-jin said that she should do and let Shin-woo know what was in her heart. It was too bad that he didn't like her back as she and Su-jin had hoped, but at least she had tried. She should be able to move on, once she got over the initial hurt.

"I can't believe we're finishing another video," Stylist Wang said as she arranged Ha-neul's hair into a loose bun. That day, they were shooting extra footage for the final scene, which would make it clear that her character had forsaken Tae-kyung's for Shin-woo's. "These things go by so fast, don't they?"

Ha-neul made a small noise of assent, keeping her eyes on the fashion magazine that she had brought along to keep her occupied. She didn't particularly care for its contents, but reading it was better than looking around idly and risking locking eyes with a certain AN JELL member, who was in one of in the makeup chairs around her.

"I'm really glad that I got to work with you again, though," the stylist added. "It's so much fun to dress you since you carry clothes so well. Maybe I'll ask President Ahn if you can appear in all of AN JELL's videos from now on."

She couldn't help laughing at that. "That's really nice of you, unni," she said, "but I don't know if I can keep doing this. My schedule is really packed these days and I'm trying not to over-extend myself." Her father was very concerned about celebrities working themselves to exhaustion, and resolved never to do that to his clients, including, of course, his own daughter.

"Well, maybe you can still appear in a video from time to time?" Stylist Wang wheedled.

Ha-neul caught a movement out of the corner of her eye, and she stole a glance to see some of the AN JELL members looking at her expectantly. Jeremy and Tae-kyung were clearly listening for her answer, but didn't want to be caught staring and thus couldn't tell whether the last one at the end was Mi-nam or Shin-woo.

"Maybe," she said.

* * *

The final scene involved only Tae-kyung, Ha-neul and Shin-woo. "Since we've already shot the main parting scene, where Ha-neul walks away from you, Tae-kyung," Director Han was saying, "all you have to do is sit on the bench and look sad. Your profile will be in the foreground of the final shot."

"Yes, Director Han," the vocalist responded.

"What we will do now," the director continued, "is film Ha-neul walking away from Tae-kyung, to Shin-woo. Ha-neul, we need to re-shoot your closeup. I need you to look sad, but also determined. This is a difficult, painful choice that you had to make, and it should show on your face."

Ha-neul nodded silently.

"And then, Shin-woo, you must hold out your hand to Ha-neul, beckoning her to come to you, and you must also look sad. Although you and Ha-neul like each other, you had to hurt your best friend so that you could be together."

"Yes, Director Han," Shin-woo said. Ha-neul glanced at him briefly as he spoke; his expression was unreadable.

"OK, let's try to get this done before we lose the light!" Director Han said, walking to his seat behind the camera. _"Action!"_

As instructed, Ha-neul moved from her spot near Tae-kyung and walked to Shin-woo, who was waiting for her a few feet away, his hand stretched out to her. Her heart was pounding as she came closer, willing herself to look into his face. This was all pretend, she reminded herself, and after a few more hours of agony, it would all be over.

She laid her hand delicately in his, and was shocked when it closed tightly around hers and Shin-woo turned, taking her arm with him. "Ouch!" she exclaimed, trotting after him (and her arm) as surprised murmurs and shouts of _"CUUUUT!"_ erupted behind them. "What are you _doing_?"

"Just come with me," Shin-woo told her.

"I don't think this was in the script!"

It wasn't, but Shin-woo continued striding briskly towards a stand of trees in the background, well out of earshot of the cast and crew. He hustled her among the trees, hiding them from view. "That thing you wrote in the note," he said, pulling the napkin from his pocket and holding it up, "was it true?"

Ha-neul's face flamed at the sight of the bit of paper. She had been emotionally preparing herself never to speak to him again, and here he was, demanding to speak to her — and about the one thing that she wished most to forget, no less. Wasn't that just like a guy?

"Yes," she told him, drawing herself up to her full height (which was considerable because of the high heels she was wearing) and raising her chin defiantly. "What of it?"

"Does your not being drunk that night mean what I think it means?" Shin-woo asked, his expression softening.

She folded her arms. "That depends on what you think it means."

"I think it means that you like me," he said, holding his breath and hoping that he hadn't scared her away by forcing her hand.

"All right, so I like you," she answered. "Are you going to do anything about it?"

He grinned, his heart taking flight. "Just this."

Stepping closer to her, Shin-woo cupped the nape of Ha-neul's neck, holding her still for his kiss.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the set, Director Han was hopping up and down in frustration. "They weren't supposed to run away!" he complained. "Where are they? We have to re-shoot the scene!"

Tae-kyung grinned at the director. "I'm sure they'll be back," he assured him.

"But not for a while," Mi-nam snickered under his breath.

THE END


End file.
